The Unsealed Truths
by EbonyVergil
Summary: Set after Primal Madness. A madman is trying to set into motion events that could spell doom for the entire world. Can he be stopped before it's too late? 14th chapter is up.
1. Trouble in Africa

**A/N: Hey all! I had a sudden inspiration for this scene and decided to make it the start of the sequel to Primal Madness. Updates will be few and far between, but I will do my best to make them count. Hope you find it entertaining.  
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_It has been five months since Terra's death and Ravager's defeat. Many things have changed since that day, and the world is no longer as familiar as it once was. For the Titans this could not be more true._

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It was a sunny day in Cape Town. Detective Hector Callen would have enjoyed it if not for the fact that there was some sort of supervillain running around bombing nearby cities in South Africa. The fact that they were not ordinary bombs and that his sources informed him there may be a bombing in his city tonight kept him far from a jovial mood.

The detective didn't show it, but he was tired, three nights with hardly a wink of sleep trying to figure out what this villain's game was. He hadn't made any demands or anything, so what was his goal? What was he after? He sighed and ran a hand through his hair or lack thereof. He was a man in his mid-thirties, dark skin, brown eyes, lean build. Dressed in a light blue button-up shirt with a dark brown tie, black slacks and black dress shoes completed his outfit. In his right hand he held a stack of folders, which he clutched with a deathgrip.

Judging from what information he could gather, even if he found this bomber, he might not be able to stop him with the resources he had. Reports that he read told of a man wearing a blue mask, with strength no normal man should have. Bullets didn't seem to slow him down in the slightest and any resistance he met he had quickly crushed. And yet, Hector felt he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

A frown began to stretch across Detective Callen's lips, he had sent Officer Nadia Vorum to pick up the one individual nearby who might be able to stop this madman. It was through a stroke of luck that his contacts were able to locate this individual. Still, it was a gamble, all that he had to go on with this person was the reports and information on the internet he was able to acquire. Officer Vorum had just contacted him a few minutes ago telling him she had the individual in custody and Hector was now on his way to the interrogation room that he was being held in.

The detective heard footsteps coming from his right, looking over he saw none other than Officer Vorum herself walking up to him. She had been with the police force for barely a year, but she had proven herself to be a good policewoman, tough and dependable. Her skin was lighter than his and she wore her usually shoulder-length dark brown hair in a bun. She was young and fit and her uniform showed wear and tear befit for a woman who was constantly active. She matched Hector's pace as they continued to walk down the hallway.

"Where did you find him?" Hector asked.

"About twenty miles Northeast of the city." Nadia answered. Hector let out a little whistle at that information.

"He put up any resistance?" The detective asked, Nadia shook her head.

"None." She verbally answered. Hector nodded, that was a good sign at least.

"Good work Officer Vorum. I'll take it from here." The detective complimented.

"Thank you sir." Officer Vorum replied steering away to continue her work. Leaving Hector alone, he continued down the hallway for a dozen more seconds before finally coming in front of the door to the interrogation room the stranger was held in. Taking a deep breath, he opened it and stepped in.

The room itself was dark, one lousy lightbulb that seemed to be getting dimmer by the second the only source of light. The higher-ups couldn't be bothered with fixing such trivial things though. The whole station was slowly falling apart, like a decaying animal in the desert, but they didn't care. The only furniture in the room was two chairs with cushions that have seen better days and a long steel table. One chair was empty, the one closest to him and would be his, the other was taken by the man he had Officer Vorum bring in.

Because of the damn poor lighting Hector couldn't get a good look at his face. The man wore a tattered brown robe with a hood, the hood further concealed his facial futures so that all Hector could see was darkness within it. Although he was wearing clothes underneath the robe, Hector couldn't tell exactly what they were, once again thanks to the dimly-lit room. The stranger was currently resting his right hand on the table while leaning back in the chair. The detective noticed that he was wearing a grey glove.

"Thirsty?" Hector asked the stranger. The hood moved slightly to face him.

"No." Was the stranger's reply. "So what law did I break to be brought in? Jaywalking?" He asked sarcastically. Hector waved his hand dismissively as he took his seat, placing the files on the table.

"Oh no. You did nothing wrong." Hector informed him, there was a moment of tense silence.

"Then why am I here?" The hooded stranger demanded. Hector sighed, time to get down to it.

"Well, we have a bit of a problem on our hands. I'm sure you've heard the reports of the bombings in Pretoria, Maseru, and Port Elizabeth right?" Hector asked.

"A little." The stranger responded.

"Well reports tell of a man in a blue mask, with capabilities no normal man would have. He's been sighted at every one of the bombings. Any idea who he is?" The detective questioned.

"None." Was the stranger's simple answer. Hector picked out a certain folder from his stack, gripping it with two hands.

"Have you seen what happens to the victims who survive the bombs?" Hector asked, sliding the folder across the table to the stranger. Who opened it with his right hand and began sifting through the pictures.

"They started to get red pigmentation on their skin, horns grew on their forehead, but worst of all, they became homicidal." Hector winced. "That is if they survived the extreme pain they were in." He finished.

"Have you contacted the Justice League? This probably falls under their thing." The stranger replied, Hector noticed there was a hint of bitterness in his voice when he mentioned the Justice League.

"They're too busy dealing with the "Big." Problems." Hector said, snorting in disgust. "Meanwhile many lives are being lost to this virus or whatever the hell it is." The detective leaned forward, crossing his arms and placing his elbows on the table, staring at the stranger intently. "We don't have the luxury of an abundance of superheroes here in Africa. Which is why we need your help." After a moment's hesitation he added, "Mr. Logan."

Silence, a long and uncomfortable silence followed. Finally, Garfield Logan closed the folder and slid it back to the detective.

"Too bad. I'm not a superhero anymore." Garfield stated. Hector's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I've read your file. About how some Justice League members tried to take you into custody because of the accidental murder of Terra Markov. How they chased you out of Jump City and forced you into hiding. " The detective told him, he saw Garfield visibly tense. "In my honest opinion the League are a bunch of arrogant pricks. Looking for crime in all the wrong places."

"What are you getting at Detective Callen?" Garfield inquired, interrupting him.

"What I'm trying to say is that I don't buy into all the bullshit the Justice League is trying to feed us about how you're some unstable monster who will kill again if you aren't stopped." Hector told him, his gaze intense "I believe you are a good person who still has the ability to do good things." The detective hesitated for a moment. "Help us Mr. Logan, help us stop this maniac before he kills again." He pleaded, this was it, the moment of truth.

Another long and tense silence ensued. Hector could tell that the man once known as Beastboy was considering his offer. He kept rubbing his thumb across his index finger, internally weighing his options. The detective could only hope those options were in his favor. Finally Garfield stood up.

"I'm sorry detective. The Mr. Logan you speak of is gone." Garfield informed him. "All I am now is just a man trying to live out the rest of his days in peace."

The former superhero started to make his way to the door. Hector frowned, he had hoped that he didn't have to pull his trump card, but he had no other choice now.

"There was a fourth attack last night." Hector announced, Garfield stopped in his tracks. "You're familiar with the Ivory Coast?" The hood that concealed the changeling's face turned towards him slightly.

"Intimately." Garfield stated. Hector picked up a different folder and slid it towards the former superhero, who hesitantly opened it and began sifting through the pictures.

"Approximately six hours ago a village on the ivory coast was bombed. The same masked suspect was there." Hector informed him. Mr. Logan seemed to only be half-listening though, his trembling fingers flipping through the pictures with greater and greater rapidity.

"No...this can't be..." Garfield said, his voice barely above a whisper, sounding horrified. Hector felt a twinge of regret, the pain in his voice was unmistakeable.

"Our sources have discovered that he plans to strike here in Cape Town sometime tonight. We aren't sure of the exact whereabouts but..." Hector never got to finish as Garfield broke the steel table in half with his right fist, the sound of steel hitting the floor resounded loudly in the interrogation room. The detective noticed that the changeling's eyes were now glowing yellow underneath his hood.

"I'll find him." Garfield snarled with such fury that Hector actually took a few steps away from him. The changeling then made his way to the door, as he opened it by ripping the door off it's hinges, Hector called out.

"Don't kill him! We need him alive for questioning do you understand?" The detective yelled to him. Garfield's back was to him and Hector noticed for the first time that the left sleeve of his robe hung empty at his side. So it was true, he had lost his arm. The hood that concealed the changeling's face turned so that his glowing left eye was staring at the detective.

"When I'm done with him, he'll wish he was dead." Garfield stated and with that he was gone, a brown blur moving down the hallway and out of one of the police station's open windows.

Hector sighed, grabbing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up, hopefully this wouldn't backfire on him.


	2. Start of the Exile

**Responses to Reviews  
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**AWildKatAppeared - You should get some of your answers this chapter.  
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**SimpletonJohn - One of the great mysteries I liked when making this story start five months after Primal Madness was the burning question "What happened to Raven and the other Titans?" and also "Why is Beastboy no longer a Titan and is in hiding?" I will be revealing what happened in that timegap in bits and pieces, hopefully making it intriguing all the way.  
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Beastboy closed the door to his rundown house, Rage curdling inside him. The village he had grown up around in the ivory coast had been decimated by some sort of nasty virus. The culprit was some bastard in a blue mask, some sick psycho getting his jollies off playing terrorist and messing with innocent people's lives.

No more, he had been hiding for too long in his eyes. He might not want to be a superhero anymore, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let those lives go unavenged. The blue-masked bastard had made this personal and he would get his revenge.

He went to his bedroom, opening an old worn chest that sat in one of the corners. He was going to need his utility belt for this one, while it wasn't as high tech as Robin's it still had some gadgets he could use. While digging through the chest, Beastboy's eyes locked onto something he had completely forgotten about, his Titans communicator.

He picked up the small round device, having long since disabled it so that he couldn't be tracked. As he stared at the communicator, memories began flooding his mind.

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_Jump City, Two months before Beastboy's chat with Detective Hector Callen.  
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Beastboy stood at the beach, staring at the island that had once housed Titan's Tower. The place he had called home for nearly five years. Just three months ago it was laid to waste by Slade's daughter, Ravager, whom he had defeated in a fierce and savage battle. Now the only thing that remained were pieces of scrap metal and the memories he and his friends held within.

The changeling sighed, he wore an outfit similar in design to his old doom patrol costume, except where the costume was once purple it was now a dark green. Specially modified to accommodate his missing left arm. Contrary to his usual cheerful demeanor, Beastboy's face was a mask of melancholy. He had a good reason though, He was about to leave Jump City, and he was unsure when or even if, he'd return.

As the green-skinned superhero approached the beach, his eyes began to glow yellow and logs began forming in the water, creating a wooden bridge that extended all the way to the island. He walked slow, drinking in the sight before him, enjoying the last few moments of peace while he could. There would be no time in the near-future.

Nostalgia hit Beastboy as soon as he set foot on the island. His memory told him that he was standing where the obstacle course used to be. He made his way to the console that controlled the course, which was covered with scattered bits of vegetation, dust and dirt.

As the changeling ran his fingers across the console, removing a layer of dust, he recalled all the times Robin and him competed for the course record. They had gotten pretty competitive after Tokyo, but it was always a friendly competition. In a way the competition had helped him become a better superhero. A faint smile crossed his lips, Robin and him may have butted heads from time to time, but the Boy Wonder's training and the little rivalry they had developed saved his life more than once. He'd always be thankful to Robin for that.

Something glinting in the dirt near the console caught Beastboy's eye, he knelt down and picked it up. The object was spherical and metallic, though most of it was covered in dirt. It took him a moment, but he eventually recognized it. A Tamaranean device that had a holographic picture of Galfore and Starfire when she was just a little girl. Galfore had given it to her after their adventure on Starfire's homeworld. Beastboy remembered how Starfire used to always talk about it and how great a knorfka Galfore was. He fiddled with the device, trying to get it to work, but it didn't respond. With a frown he placed it in his utility belt, perhaps he could find someone to fix it later.

Beastboy continued to walk along the beach of the island, finding a half-destroyed gamestation controller in a puddle of water. The changeling let out a slight chuckle at the sight of it, so many good times gaming with Cyborg. Although his metallic friend usually beat him, he always enjoyed the challenge. It was something to work for, the big hurdle he had to overcome and when he sometimes did, it made victory all the more sweeter. Cyborg was his best friend, sure he'd poke fun and pull pranks on him at times, but he never turned a deaf ear when Beastboy needed someone to talk to. He was his greatest confidante.

Something flew gently onto the green superhero's left cheek, it was too soft to be a leaf of any sort. Beastboy plucked it from his cheek and brought it in front of his face, it was a piece of fabric, but not just any fabric. It was a piece of Raven's cloak, well one of them anyway. He sighed, his shoulders suddenly felt heavy and sagged.

Raven.

Their relationship has always been a roller coaster ride, from barely tolerating each other to friends to hating each other to close friends and finally to lovers. Still, Raven was simply amazing, her strengths, her flaws, her hopes, her fears, he loved all of her. The thought that he might never see her again, wake up beside her again, well, it didn't sit well with him, not at all. She had been his constant pillar of support throughout all these tough times. In fact, he owed his sanity to her as he would have never reclaimed it if not for her efforts. Now, he was about to be without that support.

He heard it before he saw it, the rotors and engines of several helicopters. The sounds drew louder as they drew closer. Beastboy sighed and closed his eyes, he was out of time.

Military helicopters, three of them, missile pods attached to each side of them. Each helicopter held a small group of soldiers plus the pilot and co-pilot. The helicopters were completely black with tinted windows, making it hard for the naked eye to see inside them. Funny thing was, as military-looking as they were, Beastboy knew they weren't from the United States Army. They answered to someone else, someone who wasn't that fond of the changeling.

The trio of helicopters were coming in to his left, they wasted no time and fired a barrage of missiles at Beastboy as soon as they were in range. The missiles left a web of smoke trails as they flew towards their target. The changeling's eyes glowed yellow and a forty foot wall of thick brown bark emerged from the ground. The missiles impacted the barkwall, setting off a chain of explosions and covering the island in a cloud of dust.

As the helicopters hovered at a safe distance, waiting for the smoke to clear. A wooden spike suddenly shot out of the smoke cloud, impaling the engine of the middle helicopter and damaging it beyond repair. Before the helicopter could stall out and crash into the water, a bunch of wooden tendrils shot forth from the island. The tendrils wrapped around the crippled aircraft, keeping it from falling, but also immobilizing the soldiers inside.

The remaining two helicopters reacted instantly, firing more missiles where all the wooden tendrils were coming from. The moment they fired however, Beastboy took to the skies, green bat-like wings sprouted from his back. A piece of wood wrapped around his right forearm and jutting out about three feet in a vicious wooden spike.

He flew towards the helicopter on his right, with a roar, he extended the spike's length and cleaved the helicopter cleanly in half. The helicopter split apart, both pieces began falling to the waters below. Stopping in midair, Beastboy drew upon his druidic power and conjured up a group of yellow giant eagles to pluck the unharmed soldiers out of the two pieces of aircraft before they hit the water. The birds carried the soldiers away from the island, just seconds before both halves of the helicopter crashed into the ocean and exploded. They deposited the soldiers into the water within swimming distance of Jump City's shoreline.

While he was saving the soldiers from the doomed aircraft. A soldier in the last helicopter took aim at the changeling with a rifle and fired. Instead of firing bullets though, the rifle fired a purple beam of light at Beastboy. The beam hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him into the water below.

Beastboy grimaced in pain as he continued to sink deeper in the water. Whatever that beam was it hurt, his entire chest felt like it was on fire. At least they couldn't continue their attack as long as he was underwater.

Purple beams began to puncture through the water's surface, one got lucky and grazed the changeling on his right shoulder, tearing the fabric of his costume and exposing his bare shoulder. He growled, looks like he was wrong about them being unable to continue their attack. This definitely put a wrench in things.

Closing his eyes, Beastboy reached for a power he used only sparingly these recent days. He grit his teeth as his body began to strain and morphed into a shark. After Ravager's defeat and the sealing of the creature in his mind, Beastboy was able to regain his ability to morph. Unfortunately for some reason it now took him a much greater effort to do so. Whether it was thanks to his missing arm and his unstable DNA not liking that or some last remaining trick of the creature he was not sure. All he knew was that morphing took a lot more out of him than it should.

The agile green shark swiftly swam through the water. It nimbly avoided the rest of the purple lasers until it was right below the remaining helicopter. Swimming in a couple of circles to build up speed, the shark leapt out of the water. Once it was airborne it quickly morphed into a green bird, flying the rest of the way to the aircraft. The soldiers were caught off-guard when he had leapt out of the water as a shark. They got off a few shots, but they were far off the mark.

Morphing yet again, Beastboy transformed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. With it's large mouth, it bit down on the helicopter's left wing. The changeling then let gravity do the rest of the work as his massive weight began to drag the helicopter down. The soldiers who were trying to shoot him were now too busy holding on for dear life as they descended at alarming speeds.

Once they were low enough in altitude, Beastboy morphed again, this time into an octopus. He settled onto the helicopter's left wing, grabbed all six people in the aircraft, four through it's open side door and the two pilots by opening the cockpit. Once they were securely gripped he flung them straight into the air. The changeling reverted to his normal form and somersaulted off the doomed helicopter with just a handful of seconds to spare before it crashed into the island and exploded.

Landing in a knelt position, his right knee touching the ground. Beastboy slammed his right palm into the earth. Six giant green stems jutted from the ground around him, they sprouted broad leaves easily over ten feet in diameter. One by one the soldiers he had thrown in the air landed in the leaves, breaking their fall. The soldiers were jarred, but alive and the leaves quicky closed in on them, wrapping them up so only their heads could be seen. They struggled, but it was useless the leaves were holding them easily.

Beads of sweat formed on Beastboy's brow and he was breathing a little hard. Those rapid morphings had eaten up a lot of energy. Luckily he still had a lot to spare as well. Looking around, He noticed with satisfaction that there were no deaths and all the soldiers were neutralized as threats.

A strong gust of wind suddenly swept over the changeling from behind him. While not strong enough to knock him down it did make him steady himself. Turning around to deal with whatever had caused the wind, Beastboy found himself face to face with a young man with orange hair dressed in a mostly yellow and red costume. The orange-haired man's partner was in a sharp contrast, dressed in black and dark blue, the most distinguishing thing about her though was her pink hair and eyes. Kid Flash and Jinx had arrived, they immediately dropped into combat stances upon seeing the green-skinned superhero, preparing to attack him.

If it was three months ago Beastboy would have been surprised, but many things have changed since then.

"Make this easy on yourself and just surrender Beastboy." Kid Flash said, his normally cocky demeanor gone.

"So I see you've bought into the League's bullshit as well?" The changeling asked. He watched as the two people he had once considered as allies shift uncomfortably.

"You're dangerous Beastboy. We have to take you into custody, for your own good." Jinx answered. The changeling sighed.

"You're making a mistake you know." He replied sadly before his face hardened and he glared at the duo. "You will regret this."

Almost at the same time, all three young superheroes tapped into their powers, Garfield's final battle as a Titan had begun.

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**A/N: Going to attempt to tell this story through flashbacks as well as the current crisis. We'll see how it works out.**


	3. Rising Tensions

**A/N: Chapter 3! While this story is going to be long, I hope to make it shorter than Primal Madness, but we'll see.  
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**Review Responses  
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**SimpletonJohn - Thanks for the kind words! I put a lot of work into my stories and it's good to know they are appreciated.  
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**Cuervos Bestia - Good to see you again! I believe I answer your question this chapter! As for Raven and Beastboy's relationship continuing, I'm sure they'd both like to do it, but things are rather complicated at the moment for the pair.  
**

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_Jump City, Two months ago_

The battle wasn't long and drawn out like previous ones Beastboy had fought, it was short and fierce, desperate and reckless. The changeling didn't want the fight to drag out, the longer he battled Jinx and Kid Flash, the more time they had for reinforcements to arrive. He had to get out of there soon or things would quickly start to go downhill for him.

The green superhero staggered back from a kick Jinx had delivered to his jaw. Before he could regain his balance a red and yellow blur zoomed towards him. Beastboy felt himself being punched from all directions as Kid Flash went to work on him. A boot to the gut, a punch to the right cheek, a kick to the left knee, and finally an uppercut to the chin that knocked the changeling into the air, all those hits landing in the span of less than two seconds.

Beastboy growled and faced the palm of his right hand towards the ground. It began to glow yellow and large roots began to sprout up all around the island. The red and yellow blur suddenly focused back into the familiar form of Kid Flash as he tripped over one of the roots, falling right onto his face.

The speedster groaned in pain and held his now injured face with his left hand, before he could get back on his feet though a sudden weight slammed into his spine. Kid Flash let out a cry of pain as Beastboy landed on his back feetfirst, pushing his body further into the ground and forming a small crater.

"Don't take this personally dude." Beastboy said to him, covering his right arm in bark and molding it into a massively oversized fist. The changeling reared back, preparing to slam the oversized fist into the back of Kid Flash's skull, before he could two waves of pink energy were thrown at him courtesy of Jinx. Beastboy was forced to bring the oversized fist in front of him as a makeshift shield to absorb the waves of energy.

Jinx's attack shattered the large amount of bark that covered the changeling's right hand. Knocking him off of Kid Flash's back. He managed to right himself in midair, sprouting his bat-like wings from his shoulderblades. With one powerful flap of his wings, Beastboy sent a strong gust of wind at the pink-haired sorceress. It slammed into her, knocking her down and sending her sliding across the ground about fifteen feet before the back of her head hit a boulder and stopped her backwards progress. She lay still, knocked out cold.

"Alright Beastboy you asked for it." Kid Flash stated, raising his arms and facing his hands towards the changeling, he began to spin his arms incredibly fast with his superspeed and formed a column of wind with it. With another flap of his wings, Beastboy managed to fly up and dodge the column of wind right before it hit him.

The speedster wasn't ready to give up though, he aimed his spinning hands upwards, tracking the green Titan as he flew up higher. The column of wind was less than a three feet from Beastboy when he summoned a large yellow whale directly above Kid Flash. The orange-haired speedster's eyes became as wide as saucers as he saw the massive sea creature begin to fall towards him.

Redirecting his hands, Kid Flash was able to slow the whale's descent towards him with the column of wind, but it was still falling towards him. Exerting himself, the speedster poured more power into his hands and arms, finally slowing the whale's descent to a crawl. Just as he was about to blast the whale away from himself, Beastboy's grey-gloved fist suddenly filled his vision and then all he saw was black.

The changeling stood tall over his defeated foes. A look of regret etched on his green face. He knew battles with his old comrades were unavoidable at this point, but that didn't mean he had to embrace them. The distant sounds of more helicopters approaching told him it was time to leave Jump City and his life as a Titan behind.

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_Present Day, South Africa._

Beastboy placed the communicator back in the chest. He had stopped being a Titan that day, it was best for everyone. Being targeted by not only supervillains, but your fellow superheroes as well took it's toll on a person. He had become disillusioned with the superhero life after certain members of the Justice League started attacking him from behind-the-scenes. Now he just wanted him and his friends to be left alone.

He sighed, that was part of the reason why he left, everyone was just out to get HIM after all, not the Titans themselves. With him gone, they wouldn't bother Raven and the others in Jump City. At least that was his theory.

The image of his childhood home in flames on the Ivory Coast once again popped into his mind and the changeling grit his teeth, restraining himself from finding the nearest object and breaking it. The blue-masked man was trying to get his attention, the attack on the Ivory Coast confirmed it, but for what reason? Why was he provoking him?

Attaching his silver utility belt to his waist, Beastboy made his way to the front door. He had a lot of searching ahead of him and needed to get a headstart if he wanted to find the bastard in the blue mask. As he opened the front door to his house however, he was greeted by the sight of Officer Vorum standing at his doorstep. She greeted his surprised face with a nod.

"Greetings Mr. Logan, I have some good news." The female police officer stated, Beastboy raised an eyebrow in response.

"You do?" He asked, she nodded again.

"Yes. We've had a breakthrough. Our sources were able to pinpoint the suspect's hideout. However apprehending him is going to be a bit of a problem." She answered him, Beastboy's eyes narrowed, time to show this bastard a lesson he would never forget.

"No worries Officer Vorum, I've got that part covered." He told her.

* * *

"We need to discuss the developing situation in Jump City." The greatest superhero on Earth, Superman, stated to his fellow members of the Justice League. Seven of the League's top members, including himself, were gathered in the meeting room. Seated clockwise from Superman's left to his right along the table were Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter and finally the man of steel himself. They were the most influential members of a superhero organization that halted alien invasions, stopped dictators and saved foreign civilizations on a seemingly daily basis. So it was up to them to decide the direction the Justice League would take. Now, Superman decided that it was time for a change in a certain Titan-occupied city.

"What's there to discuss? The Titans harbored a known murderer and when we cracked down on them, the spineless coward flees." Green Lantern John Stewart replied, sitting in his chair wearing his green and black costume, his hands folded in front of his face. The Flash turned to look at him with a frown.

"Hey John, did you ever think that Beastboy left Jump City so that his friends wouldn't be up to their armpits in our members trying to find him? That bounty you put on the poor guy's head sure made him popular in all the wrong ways." The adult speedster stated. Hawkgirl crossed her arms and glared at Flash.

"That was his own fault for taking the life of an innocent." The winged heroine responded.

"It was proven that the changeling was not in a right state of mind when it happened." Batman chimed in. His face impassive. Wonder Woman leaned forward, her facial expression hardened.

"If he can't keep control of his own sanity then he has no business being a superhero. He's a danger to himself and others." The amazon said.

"Perhaps that is one of the reasons why he has gone into hiding." J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter suggested.

"In any case, we need to decide if our presence in Jump City is doing more harm than good at this point. Beastboy has been off the radar for two months now and..." The man of steel was interrupted when a dimensional portal suddenly opened up in the room they were in.

From the portal stepped a dark-skinned man in a blue cloak. A grey mask covered his eyes and a grey symbol of a horn was on the front of his tunic. Batman immediately recognized him as Herald, one of many honorary Titans. Green Lantern stood up from his chair, his hands balled into fists.

"What is the meaning of..." The power ring wearing superhero began to ask when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"We hate to interrupt your little discussion..." The voice said, at that moment four young superheroes stepped into the room through the dimensional portal Herald had created. The Leaguers couldn't help, but be surprised. It was the Titans themselves, and the expressions on their faces was anything, but jovial. The owner of the voice that spoke, Robin, their leader, swept his angry gaze across the room. "...But there are some things of our own that we need to discuss with you, face to face."


	4. Superhero Conflicts

**A/N: Lack of free time this week, but finally got this written up.**

**Review Responses  
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**SimpletonJohn - I hope this was soon enough for ya, dying from anticipation can't be healthy ;)  
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After a moment of tense silence, Superman spoke up.

"We're in the middle of an important meeting." The Man of Steel said. "So if you could come back later we'd be more than happy to listen to you then." Robin shook his head.

"No, you'll listen to us now. You've been brushing us off for weeks." The Titan leader responded, Wonder Woman glared at the group of young heroes.

"Pardon us if the adults try to do some real work." She sneered, crossing her arms in front of her and looking clearly unhappy. Robin saw Raven out of the corner of his eye shift slightly behind him to turn towards the Amazon. The dark Titan had her hood up so the only thing you could see beneath it was her mouth and her glowing white eyes. The Boy Wonder could clearly tell she was restraining herself greatly, Beastboy's absence had clearly been affecting her these past few months.

Robin had suggested to Raven about waiting at their new base of operations, but she would have none of it. The violet-haired girl had insisted on coming. The masked Titan understood, the Justice League was messing with a fellow Titan, they were messing with family and they had allowed it to go on for far too long. For Raven it was deeper than that, this was far more personal for her and she wanted to confront the ones responsible for forcing Beastboy away from Jump City and her.

"If it wasn't for us there wouldn't even be an Earth left for you to defend." Raven told them.

"And if it wasn't for us, Darkseid or Brainiac would have conquered the planet along with the entire Solar System already." Green Lantern shot back. He glared at the cloaked Titan, but she glared right back. Flash stood up from his chair, hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Hey hey! Why don't we all chill, have a cup of coffee and try to work this out?" The crimson speedster suggested.

"Flash is right, we should hear them out first." Martian Manhunter added. Hawkgirl looked at the green-skinned superhero like he had gone mad.

"Are you kidding me J'onn?" She exclaimed, jabbing an accusing finger in the direction of the Titans. "They just barged into a meeting between the highest ranking members of the JLA. If anything they should be punished!"

"Hate to break it to you girl, but we're not members of the JLA." Cyborg informed the winged superhero. "Your rules don't apply to us."

"Even so, you're little more than kids." Hawkgirl replied. Starfire took a step towards her.

"And you are less than a klorbag!" The Tamaranean hissed, her hands balling into fists. Seeing that the situation was quickly escalating out of control, Superman decided he needed to put a stop to the bickering.

"Enough!" The Man of Steel shouted, hovering in the air and landing gently in front of Robin and the rest of the Titans, his fellow Justice League members at his back. The greatest superhero on Earth the only thing keeping the two groups from openly attacking each other. "We were discussing matters relevant to you anyway, might as well knock out two birds with one stone." The man of gestured for Robin to speak his mind. "So, what do you want?"

"We want you to withdraw any of your members working in Jump City." The Titan leader requested.

"Those members are trying to find a criminal." Hawkgirl said to him. Robin turned his hardened gaze towards her.

"Those members are trying to find a TITAN." He corrected the winged superheroine. "In case you have forgotten, Beastboy was found innocent of murder in a legal court of law." His eyes narrowed behind his mask. "The Justice League still claims to respect the law does it not?" Hawkgirl growled, but kept silent.

"At any rate, you won't find him there. He's long gone, no thanks to you." Raven replied, a noticeable sharpness in her usual monotone.

"Since it's obvious he's no longer in Jump City, We think it'd be best if you left and stopped stepping on our toes." Robin added. "The Titans can handle the city just fine on our own." There was a moment of awkward silence and Robin noticed that the members of the League were busy casting glances at one another, finally Martian Manhunter broke the silence.

"There may be a slight problem with your request." The green-skinned superhero stated. Robin raised an eyebrow.

"And what is that?" He asked.

"The members that we stationed at Jump City were ordered to withdraw a month ago." Batman, his former mentor, revealed.

"So why are they still there if they aren't acting under the JLA's orders?" Robin questioned, racking his brain for possible answers.

"Because they are trying to collect the bounty on the changeling's head." Batman answered. Robin heard the telltale sound of Raven's powers activating from behind him.

"Who the hell has put a bounty on Beastboy's head?" The cloaked Titan growled, her eyes glowing bright white with fury. Green Lantern stood up from his seat and fixed the Titans with a challenging stare.

"That would be me." The ring-bearing superhero stated.

* * *

Beastboy didn't like warehouses. They reminded him of his first battle with Ravager, when she infected him with a new strain of the Sakutia virus that proceeded to make his life a living hell. In a way, that day had changed his life forever. Everything that's happened to him could be linked back to that day.

Yet an empty warehouse in Cape Town was where Officer Nadia Vorum was driving him to in her car. Apparently her contact was going to meet them there. He was currently riding shotgun, Officer Vorum at the wheel. Of course the air conditioning in the car was being dodgy so the changeling had his window rolled down. Enjoying the wind that caressed his face.

"So this contact of yours, how good is he?" He asked the officer,

"It's a 'she' actually and she found your little hideout in less than a day. Otherwise, I don't think we would have ever found you." Nadia answered.

"Well that was the plan you know? Not to be found. I'm not exactly a popular person at the moment." Beastboy replied. Nadia didn't take her eyes off the road.

"I'm well aware." She told him. "However, like Detective Callen probably told you we don't have very many superheroes around here. When rumors began to circulate about a green man and various green animals being sighted nearby, we had to check them out." The dark-haired woman cast a sidelong glance at him. "You're our best shot at saving many people's lives Garfield."

Beastboy turned to look out his window. Saving people's lives? Him? It seemed like he was better at destroying them really. The unwanted image of Terra's bloodied face entered his mind, His hand plunged through her chest, her blood splashed all over him. Her blue eyes staring at him with confusion and hurt before life faded from them forever. The changeling closed his eyes and winced, willing the image to go away. Instead the images of the destroyed village on the Ivory Coast replaced it. The village he had lived in when his parents were still alive, all gone.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" He asked, trying to hide the pain and anger in his voice. Nadia cast another sidelong glance at him.

"I could, but I was trying not to draw attention to myself, this is supposed to be a secret rendezvous after all." She answered. "Something wrong?" The image of Terra's dying face once again appeared in Beastboy's mind.

"Just want to get this over with that's all." He replied. Nadia nodded.

"That makes two of us." She told him.

* * *

The warehouse was very rundown, caked with rust and resting on concrete that was cracked in several places. Beastboy closed his eyes and breathed in deep, noting that it would be dark in a few hours. The sun giving the sky an odd orange color as it began to set.

Nadia led him to the large sectional door at the front of the warehouse. She pulled out a small switch from her pocket and pressed a button, the sectional door began to rise. The female police officer motioned for Beastboy to follow her through the door. Once he complied she hit the switch again and the door dropped and closed behind him.

The changeling took a quick look around, the interior was pretty dusty and dark, a few lightbulbs in the ceiling illuminated the center. Stacks of boxes littered the back area of the warehouse, some stacks were wrapped in plastic, others were not. The dust began to irritate his nose and he involuntarily sneezed.

"What's the matter? Can't handle a little dust?" A female voice taunted from the back of the warehouse. Beastboy immediately dropped into a fighting stance.

"Show yourself!" He demanded, he heard the voice snicker.

"Fine, was just having a little fun." the voice responded, quiet footsteps began to approach the changeling. He watched as the shadowy figure revealed itself in the warehouses poor light.

It was a girl, about his age, she wore a black bandana on her head, tied in the back. Her shoulder-length hair was white as snow, but her eyes were a very dark brown, almost black. Goggles rested around her neck, the goggles themselves seemed to be tinted. The girl had dark skin and wore a white tanktop, black elbowpads and fingerless gloves. Her pants were green military fatigues complete with black boots. She also had on a brown belt with two holsters on each of her hips which currently had what looked like two silver-colored revolvers in them. The most surprising thing for Beastboy though was that he recognized this girl.

"Michela?" He asked incredulously not believing what he was seeing. The girl named Michela smiled wickedly at the changeling.

"Been a long time Garfield." Michela replied, and in one swift motion, pulled out a revolver with her right hand, took aim at Beastboy's head and fired.


	5. Resignation of the Exiled

**A/N: It may be some time before I get another chapter out after this one. Lot of things going on IRL atm and not enough time. As always I'll do my best though.  
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**Review Responses  
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**SimpletonJohn - Add one more to the list of people that want Beastboy's head in this chapter, poor guy can't get a break. Raven will have a chance to unleash her frustration in the future, never fear!**

**Blackfalcon269 - Wow you read all that stuff in one sitting? I'm impressed! These stories are a guilty pleasure of mine, but I do put a lot into them so your kind words are greatly appreciated. Hopefully I won't disappoint.  
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* * *

Beastboy stared at Michela's face, eight years ago the face before him was a gentle one, full of kindness. Now however, the face was hardened, not a trace of the naive girl he once knew. It was to be expected sadly.

Michela fired the silver revolver in her right hand at him. Instead of a bullet however a narrow blue beam of energy shot out from it. With the aid of some superhuman reflexes, Beastboy was able to lean to his right and earn a light graze on his right bicep instead of a hole through his head.

The changeling quickly morphed into a cheetah and moved to Michela's right side. He intended to flank her, but the girl was surprisingly quick. She was tracking him easily with her gun, the blue lasers were getting uncomfortably close to hitting him.

Deciding that his current tactic wasn't working, Beastboy suddenly dove toward Michela, morphing back into his normal form in the process. Tapping into his druidic power, he generated a burst of wind with the palm of his right hand that sent him flying over the dark-skinned girl's head. Michela's shot a split-second too late to pierce his skull.

While still in midair, The exiled Titan produced a green thorned vine in his right hand and cracked it like a whip toward's his revolver-wielding opponent, aiming for the back of her neck. Impressively, Michela managed to raise her right hand to her neck before the vine wrapped around it. While this did prevent Beastboy from strangling her, it also caused her right hand to be effectively pinned against her throat as the vine twisted around her neck.

The changeling tugged on the vine-whip hard. Michela found herself pulled off her feet. She sailed into the wall of the warehouse spine-first. The white-haired girl gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. She was still trying to get air back into her lungs when Beastboy landed in front of her, a stern look on his face. The handle of the vine-whip still tight in his grip.

"Mind telling me why you're shooting at me Michela? It's been eight years since we saw each other last. I thought reunions were all about hugs and cake, not glares and lasers." Beastboy questioned, Michela smiled bitterly.

"And I thought friends weren't supposed to abandon each other!" She shot back at him. "Did you even try to look for me after we escaped the Lost Pyramid?" Beastboy faltered as his mind dug up the old memory.

The Lost Pyramid was an ancient structure, built to keep an ancient evil sealed away. At the time, Michela and him were just a couple of kids, barely eleven. They had been trained by an enigmatic man named Zalthien, not out of cruelty, but out of necessity, to use their powers. Many bad people had tried to eradicate the village that Garfield called home in his childhood along with many others. Michela, himself and a few others were the only ones who possessed superhuman abilities and so they were taught to control them enough to where they could defend their home from overzealous warlords and the occasional wild animal. Nothing however prepared them for the Lost Pyramid.

At some point, the evil the Lost Pyramid was supposed to keep sealed began to get loose. Michela and Garfield had to venture to the foreboding structure to try and stop it or else risk having their village fall to it. Although they succeeded in resealing the evil, it was not without incident. A group of looters stumbled upon them just as they exited the Lost Pyramid, too weak from their struggles the two superpowered children were captured and separated.

Beastboy bit his lip, he HAD tried to look for Michela after he escaped his captors, but he was never successful.

"I did try to look for you Michela." Beastboy told her, the revolver-wielding girl let out a hollow laugh.

"Tried to look for me? Are you fucking kidding me?" She shouted, The changeling suddenly felt a very sharp pain in his right shoulder. He felt like an invisible fist had just struck him. The sudden sensation caused him to release his hold on the vine-whip.

Michela stood before him, a smoking revolver in her free hand. Beastboy looked on in shock, when the hell did she draw her other revolver? He never remembered her moving this fast. She had shot him clean through his right shoulder, he could smell the scent of his own burnt flesh from the wound. The vine wrapped around the gun-wielding girl's throat was loosened and she ripped it free.

She took aim at the exiled Titan and opened fire with both revolvers. Beastboy managed to erect a six foot thick barkwall to intercept the piercing blue lasers just in the nick of time.

"Do you think this is funny? That this is another one of your stupid jokes? Cause I'm definitely not laughing Garfield!" She yelled at him, her voice getting louder and louder with each word. The changeling grimaced, obviously he had picked a poor choice of words to say to his old friend.

"It wasn't a joke!" Beastboy shouted back, kicking the barkwall with his left foot and sending it sliding across the warehouse's floor. Michela cursed and leapt over the massive wall of bark less than half a second before it would have crushed her. She positioned her body so that she was upside-down and opened fire once more with both of her revolvers.

The changeling morphed into a rabbit and managed to dodge the hail of laserfire that Michela rained down on him from above. As gravity finally took hold and the white-haired girl was forced to land on the ground. Beastboy morphed into a hawk and flew to the top of a stack of crates before returning to his normal form at a relatively safe distance away from Michela.

All but forgotten, Officer Nadia Vorum had watched the whole scene unfold in shock, taking cover behind a nearby crate when the fight started.

"Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on? You two are supposed to be working together not trying to kill each other!" Nadia shouted.

"We actually did used to work with each other, when we were kids." Michela revealed, keeping her guns trained on Beastboy, but not firing at the moment. "But the green bastard abandoned me."

"I didn't abandon you!" The changeling called out seriously. "I looked everywhere for you after I escaped my captors all those years ago. But I was eleven years old, young and naive."

"So what? You just decided to forget about me and join the Doom Patrol? I bet you didn't even wait a week." Michela sneered, Beastboy frowned.

"I searched for you for months." The changeling informed her. "And I joined the Doom Patrol on accident, not by choice. I broke into their headquarters because I heard a rumor that you were being held there."

"Why the hell would the Doom Patrol kidnap a little girl?" The revolver-wielding girl hissed.

"Like I said, I was young and naive. Ended up impressing the Doom Patrol in my attempts to escape them though. You probably know the rest." Beastboy crouched at the edge of the crate he was occupying, resting his right arm on his right leg. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to find you Michela. I can't change the past, but if you give me a chance I can atone for it."

The two stared hard at each other and a tense silence ensued. Nadia wanted to say something to salvage the situation, but it looked like the two had too much history. She was just a police officer while these two were obviously super powered beings, getting in between them would be unwise. The young officer bit her lower lip, what should she do?

"Atone?" Michela finally spoke, her voice quiet. "You can atone by dying you asshole!" And with that the white-haired girl's revolvers began to glow light blue in color. A wide blue beam shot out from the two guns, heading straight for Beastboy.

At that moment Nadia got a good look at the changeling's face. She expected him to be shocked from Michela's sudden outburst but he wasn't. The young man's green face was eerily calm, he stared at the white-haired girl not in surprise, but in tired resignation. That's when Nadia had a sudden realization.

The green-skinned young man wasn't surprised because this has happened to him before. He was a wanted man, a former superhero, so he must have had some of his fellow Titans come after him. How many people he had once considered friends turned into enemies in front of his eyes Nadia wondered. From the look in the changeling's face she guessed far too many. At that moment she felt a pang of sympathy in her heart for Beastboy. It must have been hard to face down so many you had once considered allies.

The changeling stared calmly at the wide blast of blue energy heading for his position. Yet another person he'd have to neutralize that he had once considered a friend. He was fast getting tired of doing this. However he would not be able to have peace until the man in the blue mask paid for destroying his old home in the Ivory Coast. And so, old friend or not, he would fight.

Beastboy's calm expression transitioned into a hard glare, he was starting to get rather good at taking out fellow metahumans. The thought was a very disturbing one and he cleared it from his mind as he reached forward with his right hand. Blast of energy met grey glove and the warehouse became filled with a bright light from the clash.

* * *

Raven had always been good at controlling her emotions and more importantly, her temper. For most of her life she had to be, for she was the daughter of Trigon, one of the most powerful interdimensional beings in existence. If she lost control of her emotions she could have brought about the end of the world and actually had. Somehow her friends were able to help her reverse it and defeat her bastard father though.

Since that day, the dark girl had gained the ability to actually feel without consequence. She could get angry if someone went into her room without permission, be afraid of a horror movie if it was too scary, and fall in love with a certain green changeling if he clumsily stumbled into her heart. However, Raven still kept her emotions suppressed, all that training with the monks of Azarath did not go away easily.

Looking at Green Lantern's self-righteous face as he glared at them like they were disobedient children set something off in the cloaked Titan. She felt her blood boil and her teeth grate against each other. Rage flowed through her as she raised her right hand, glowing with her power, she was going to blast the ring-bearing superhero into another dimension.

A big metallic hand clamped around her right forearm, forcing it back down. Raven was brought out of her sudden haze of rage and looked to her right to see Cyborg frowning and shaking his head at her.

"Not here, Raven." The metallic Titan whispered to his teammate.

"This is the bastard who is responsible for Beastboy leaving us!" She hissed back.

"I know, but look around, we are in THEIR house at the moment. They may be a bunch of pricks, but the JLA aren't pushovers in combat. Fighting them in their own base wouldn't be very smart." He whispered back.

Raven wanted to say more, but bit her lip. Cyborg's logic was sound, a battle here would put them at a severe disadvantage. They would have to wait for a better opportunity.

"Why did you put the bounty on Beastboy's head?" Robin demanded.

"He's taken the life of an innocent." Green Lantern responded.

"He wasn't in his right mind at the time." The masked Titan shot back.

"Then he should be put in an asylum." The green-and-black clad superhero replied.

"You assume this is a normal sort of madness. An asylum wouldn't be able to help him. It was magical in nature and we dealt with it." Robin explained, after Terra was properly buried and Beastboy had time to mourn. Raven and him told the rest of the team what had happened to him. How Ravager had injected him with a new strain of Sakutia that "Changed" his powers. He was able to get his old ones back eventually and Raven had even sealed away the "Creature" responsible for causing the changeling's madness in the first place. By all accounts Beastboy was "Cured." But according to the Justice League and more specifically, Green Lantern, the damage had already been done.

"Dealt with it?" Green Lantern growled narrowing his glowing green eyes suspiciously at the younger man. "Dealt with it how? With that witch's help no doubt." He hissed pointing an accusing finger at Raven, who was glaring daggers at him. "A demon's blood runs through her veins! She's almost as bad as your little green friend."

"Raven has helped save Jump City more times than I can count. While the JLA turned her away just because of her demonic heritage. I decided to look past that and see the girl who just wanted to help and do good." Robin's hands balled into fists, but he kept his voice calm. "What you League members fail to understand is that Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They don't have to be a fucking boyscout the moment they are born until adulthood. Some of the Titans' best members have had terrible pasts and yet, they have risen to the occasion and performed deeds so heroic that even you couldn't refute them."

"Don't talk like you know me kid. What makes you think I couldn't refute their accomplishments?" Green Lantern challenged.

"You're the one with all the assumptions I am simply responding in kind." The Titans' leader replied. "I'll only ask this once, remove the bounty on Beastboy." The ring-bearing superhero crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"And If I don't?" The older man asked. Robin didn't reply right away, instead he nodded to Herald who proceeded to open a portal up with his horn. One by one the Titans left through the portal. Robin was the last, his back was to the JLA. Before he entered the portal he turned his head so that he could look Green Lantern in the eye.

"If you don't, the Titans will make your life hell. Count on it." Robin vowed and with that he stepped through the portal and left the Justice League to ponder what just happened.


	6. Old Friends, New Enemies

**A/N: Been awhile eh? I was focusing most of my fanfic time on my other story, "Stories Never Told" While I brainstormed ideas for this one. I'll try to update faster for the next chapter, but no guarantees. Lots going on in R/L here.  
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**Review Responses  
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**SimpletonJohn - Yeah the Green Lantern is pretty screwed. Locked in a room with Raven? That's not a bad idea! Mwa ha ha.  
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**Randamwriter - I am honored you think so well of this story. There will be more interaction between Beastboy and Raven in the future, but there are some things plotwise I need to do first.  
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* * *

_Nine years ago, The Ivory Coast..._

The green boy sat near the edge of the river, hugging his knees to his chest. Tears were once again threatening to come out of his eyes, but he stubbornly held them back. It had only been three days since his parents had died. Everything was so different now that they were gone. He felt so hollow, so empty. The boy was supposed to be training to control his powers with old man Zalthien and the other three kids, but he just couldn't find the motivation to do it right now. His pointy ears picked up the sounds of Zalthien scolding the kids, telling them what they needed to do to improve and such.

Zalthien was a wiry-looking man approaching middle age. He was dressed in simple furs and wielded a two-handed wooden staff that had a rather detailed carving of a human head carved into one end of it. Six feathers were put in the carving's ears, three for each ear. The feathers themselves each had a mixture of green, yellow and red in them.

"That will be all for today. Get some rest, tomorrow is a long day for you three." Zalthien said with a slight smile. He stared at the three kids in front of him. All panting heavily from the day's training. The shaman knew he wasn't the best teacher, but he could at least teach these children to control their powers enough not to be a danger to the others.

"I don't get why we have to do this stupid training Zalthien!" The young voice of Baruzar piped up. A small crop of black hair covering his scalp, he was of average height and build for his ten years of age. "I'm not dumb like Michela, I wouldn't hit my own friends!"

"Hey!" squeaked the young Michela. She was the same age as Baruzar, her long ivory hair reaching past her shoulderblades, her eyes were like onyx's unless you saw them in a certain light, where they were a very dark brown. "What happened last week was not my fault! Naji asked me to shoot him with my new hair growth ray! And he's not my friend, he's my brother!" The little girl said indignantly, a tall boy with the hair color the same as Michela's chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"Yeah I did ask you sis, I wanted to grow some facial hair so people would see me as an grown-up, but it just made my hair longer." Naji said with a frown. "Don't mind Baruzar, he's just complaining because he's tired." Naji, Michela's brother, stated with a chuckle. Naji was three years older than his sister, he was tall for his age, towering over the other two children, his ivory-colored hair matching his sister's. The difference was his hair was put in corn rows and tied up in a ponytail at the back of his head, the tail end of the ponytail reached just between his shoulderblades. In a few more years he would probably be up to Zalthien's height, though the shaman wasn't known for his exceptional height himself. Still, no one could deny the youth was growing fast. All three were dressed simply, clad only in the animal skins that they or the adults themselves had hunted for.

"I'm not tired!" Baruzar protested, "I'm so not tired I bet I could beat you in a race Naji!" He declared, Naji chuckled and maneuvered himself until he was on the ten-year old boy's right side.

"Yeah? Well lets do it then! Michela count down from three!" The older boy yelled to his sister. She complied and when she said "Go!" The two boys took off, laughing and lightly taunting each other.

Thanks to his pointy ears, the green boy could hear everything. Hearing the boys' laughing stung. He'd probably be joining them if it was three days ago. Now young Garfield Logan didn't think he'd ever be able to laugh again. Michela took notice of the little green-skinned boy sitting sadly in front of the river.

"Zalthien, who's that?" She asked pointing at the green boy. Zalthien raised his eyebrows as he took notice of the little boy.

"Oh he is a new charge of mine, his parents were...lost to him recently, he's still taking it hard. Since I was a friend of his parents and would visit them frequently, I decided to to take him in. He's special like you, able to do things other people can't do." The old shaman explained. The white-haired girl continued to stare at the green boy.

"He lost his parents?" She asked, Zalthien nodded. Without another word, Michela walked up to the boy and sat down next to him.

"Hi I'm Michela, what's your name?" She asked politely, the green boy didn't answer right away and he didn't turn to look at her, he kept staring at the river.

"Garfield. Garfield Logan." The emerald-colored boy finally answered.

"Zalthien told me you lost your parents." She said to him quietly, tears began to brim in Garfield's eyes.

"Y-yeah." He sniffled, her gaze softened.

"I'm sorry, I lost my parents too a long time ago." Michela stated, retrieving an object from her side pouch, she presented it to Garfield. "Here, I used to hold this when I was really sad right after my parents died, you can have it Garfield." She told him with a smile, the green boy tentatively took the gift from the white-haired girl.

It was a stuff animal, a stuffed tiger. Instantly it reminded him of the stuffed lion his mother got him for his ninth birthday. Garfield found the stuffed tiger very soft to the touch and it was very warm. He clutched it to his chest and it seemed like the warmth spread through his entire body. He felt a part of himself ridiculing him, telling him boys didn't clutch sissy stuffed toys, but then again most boys didn't lose their parents in front of their eyes. So any amount of comfort was good.

"Do you like it?" Michela asked. He nodded in response.

"Yeah it's very soft and warm." He informed her, she smiled in response.

"Keep it. You can give it back to me when it no longer hurts." She told him, the tiniest of smiles appeared on Garfield's face.

"Thank you." He replied.

* * *

_Cape Town, South Africa, Present Day._

There was a flash, a bright light and the loud report from Michela's revolver. Officer Nadia Vorum was forced to look away from the blinding light for a moment. When the moment passed she looked back to see an unusual sight.

Amazingly both combatants were alive. Beastboy had surrounded Michela in a shroud of thick vines, upon closer inspection, Nadia realized that the vines had thorns protruding from them. The thorns were less than an inch from touching the white-haired girl, some were even touching her throat, but not puncturing. The changling's right hand was smoking, the vapors lazily rising into the air.

"Enough Michela, if you want to kill me, fine. Let's just at least find the bastard who destroyed our old home first." Beastboy tried to reason, Michela glared at her old friend.

"Why shouldn't I just shoot you right here then take care of the blue-masked dirtbag myself?" The white-haired gunslinger challenged, a light blue dot hovered right at the changeling's forehead. Beastboy answered her question with a question.

"Why did you go through the trouble of finding me for Detective Callen?" The changeling asked, "You could have just ambushed me at my house." The green fugitive's eyes narrowed, "You need my help." he told her, Michela snorted.

"I see you've gotten a little smarter since I saw you last." She commented, "Yes, I've encountered this blue-masked guy before, you and him both have something in common."

"Which is?" Beastboy prodded.

"You're both really fucking tough to kill." Michela answered. "I guess the fact that your still breathing shows me you'll be an asset, rather than a hindrance."

"So nice to know I'm needed." Beastboy commented dryly, "Shall we end our little standoff now?"

Michela stopped aiming at Beastboy's forehead and the changeling dismissed the thorns and vines wrapped around the white-haired gunslinger. She put her revolvers back in their holsters. Nadia came out from her cover and approached the two.

"Now that we have that out of the way..." The police officer said uneasily. "You said you've determined where the masked man will strike tonight Michela?" The white-haired girl nodded.

"That I did." The gunslinger replied smugly, she pulled a device out of her belt and hit a switch and a section of the floor slid away to reveal a hidden staircase. "Follow me."

The group descended down the staircase and through a steel walkway, finally stopping when they reached a circular room that was filled with holoscreens showing various areas in Cape Town. Michela quickly sat down at the only chair in the room, as she stretched out her hands, a glowing light-blue keyboard materialized under her fingers and she began typing away. Nadia and Beastboy couldn't help but be impressed. The changeling let out a low whistle.

"I see you've improved your tech skills." The former superhero remarked.

"Well I did have eight years to work on it." Michela replied icily, Nadia leaned forward so she was looking over the white-haired girl's right shoulder.

"What did you find?" The police officer asked. Michela was silent for a few moments as she furiously typed on the holokeyboard.

"Well I figured the most likely place for the bastard to strike would be the City's Harbor. It's one of the busiest ports in South Africa and there's plenty of cruise ships that berth there for him to use if he wants to play terrorist. So I started checking the information on all the ships that were docking there tonight." The white-haired gun-slinger explained. Beastboy groaned and rubbed his head.

"Oh man that sounds like a lot of work, just thinking about it makes my head hurt." The changeling complained.

"It's child's play if you know what you're doing." Michela bragged.

"Yeah this sort of information gathering was Robin's thing when I was a Titan. Cyborg would have loved your little underground fortress too." He mentioned, she grinned.

"Ah, two of the famous Titans. I do admit Garfield, I sometimes longed to be in your shoes just so I could see Cyborg's tech up close. It's always intrigued me." The gunslinger admitted.

"Well, if you don't kill me anytime soon, I'll set you up on a date." Beastboy answered sarcastically, Michela snorted. Nadia observed their verbal exchange. On the surface it was light-hearted, but the police officer could still sense the tension between them, like a heavy blanket it loomed over the room. Silence ruled over the room for a few moments before Michela continued.

"Anyway, I was doing background checks on every boat that's going to come into the port tonight. Everyone of them checked out okay, but one. One of the boats' captain's ID was a forgery. I called in some favors from some old contacts of mine and discovered the forgeries were made for someone known only as Talthas." Michela informed them.

"Let me guess, that's what our blue masked friend is calling himself?" Nadia asked.

"Yup." Michela confirmed. "Probably a codename, but at least we got a name." Beastboy leaned over Michela's left shoulder to get a closer look at the holoscreen. Starting to feel crowded, the white-haired gunslinger growled in annoyance.

"So this Talthas has most likely hijacked a boat and is going to try to explode the bomb in the harbor?" Beastboy deduced.

"Seems like it." Nadia agreed, Michela blew a loose strand of hair out of her face as her frustration grew.

"You two do realize the other holoscreens in the room show the same thing on my screen right?" The tech-savvy gunslinger announced. Nadia's face heated in embarrassment and she immediately stopped leaning over Michela's shoulder to look at a different holoprojector. Beastboy also blushed with embarrassment.

"I knew that! but uh...your screen's resolution is so much better than the others!" The changeling replied. Michela snorted.

"Nice try Garfield, but they all have the same resolution." The gunslinging girl responded. Beastboy laughed nervously and backed away, finding a new holoscreen to stare at. Frustrated, Michela ran a hand over her face.

"So which boat is this Talthas fellow using?" Nadia questioned, getting back to the task at hand.

"A cruise ship called the Aphrodite, it's going to dock in about four hours." Michela reported.

"Ah, Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, makes sense for a cruise ship." Beastboy mused, he felt Michela's eyes on him and turned to see her looking at him like he had just grown two heads, "What?"

"You...actually know who Aphrodite is?" Michela asked incredulously. Beastboy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, my girlfriend is quite the bookworm, so it was inevitable that I would pick up one or two." He answered, Michela continued to stare at him in utter disbelief.

"You read a book?" She exclaimed, a slight pause. "You have a girlfriend?"

* * *

_Cruise Ship Aphrodite, three hours, forty minutes from Cape Town's Port._

A tall man in a long black leather jacket with a black wool sweater underneath, dark green cargo pants and black boots leaned forward, his forearms resting against the railing. The man's hood was up and his face was not only concealed in shadow, but the dark blue mask that he wore. Three vertical black stripes went across each eyehole of the mask. His eyes themselves were blood red with no pupils, the sclera was completely black.

The man known only as Talthas stared out across the waters, thinking of the chaos that was about to come for the world.

"Now that you've crawled out of hiding changeling. The endgame can begin." He announced, a gleam in his eye.


	7. Bad Omens and Brewing Storms

**A/N: Finally an update! Been working hard on an original story of mine, which is nearing completion. Also I was deciding where I wanted to take the plot with this and have finally settled on a decision. Hopefully it will be to your liking.  
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**Review Responses  
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**Randamwriter - I will explore more of Michela's reasoning for wanting to put a bullet in Beastboy's skull in future chapters. Without trying to give too much away, lets just say that she went through hell for many years and blames the changeling for her misery.  
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**SimpletonJohn - Lol yea, Beastboy is becoming quite popular, just not in a good way. Maybe his luck will change in the future? We shall see!  
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**Densharr - Yeah Beastboy and Raven are still together. It's just that circumstances have forced them apart for now unfortunately.  
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* * *

_New Titans base, somewhere underneath Jump City._

The dark-green halls were built in the same shape as Titan's Tower had been. In a way it did remind Starfire of her old home. Only there weren't any windows anymore to look out and see the beautiful blue sky or to see all the curious earthlings going about their business in the city.

The Titan's new base was a large underground bunker. The emergency one they had used after Ravager's defeat was small and only used to provide shelter should their home ever be destroyed. This new bunker was way more spacious, but to the Tamaranean Princess it sometimes reminded her of a tomb. She shivered slightly at the thought. Robin had promised them he would rebuild the Tower in the near-future, but for now with the current tense situation with the Justice League the Titans leader felt it best if they kept their base hidden.

Starfire wasn't just wandering the halls aimlessly however. She was heading to Raven's room. The alien girl was worried about her dark friend after their confrontation with the Justice League. She knew that Raven blamed them for Beastboy's departure and that the dark girl was even gloomier than usual since he's been gone. Starfire felt it was her duty as a friend to make sure Raven was okay.

As she approached the door marked 'RAVEN' the orange-skinned alien girl went over in her head what she would say. Conversation openers with Raven were always a little difficult. The violet-haired girl could easily leave you in an awkward silence or dismiss you with one-word answers. Beastboy had a knack for striking up a conversation which usually ended up in some banter between the two, but unfortunately Starfire lacked that knack.

Before the red-haired girl could even knock on the door she heard Raven's voice.

"It's open." The dark girl's raspy voice stated. Starfire pressed a button on the wall next to the door and it slid open. Usually Raven kept it locked, was she expecting her? The yellow-skinned Titan stepped into the Raven's room, watching a sight that cut short any reply she was going to make.

Before Starfire was Raven, a number of books were circling the air around the cloaked girl. Raven currently had a book in her hand as well, her violet orbs rapidly moving back and forth as she read the contents within. Starfire recalled Raven mentioning doing something similar to this when she had met Malchior.

"Greetings friend, I wish to know if you would like to join the rest of us for dinner?" Starfire asked her friend. Raven didn't look up from her book.

"What's for dinner?" The dark girl asked.

"I believe Cyborg stated he is making beef stew, made from home." The Tamaranean Princess answered.

"Hmm. Home-made beef stew, sounds healthy." Raven stated dryly. Starfire lowered her head, she almost looked like a flower wilting.

"So, you do not wish to join us then?" The alien girl questioned. A small smile appeared on Raven's face.

"No I will, just let me finish this passage first." Raven replied. "I was thinking of getting some food soon anyway." The Tamaranean instantly lit-up at this.

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, hopping up and down on her feet and clapping her hands together excitedly. After a few moments of jubilation she looked towards Raven curiously. "Um, may I ask what you are reading?"

"I'm researching any book that has information on druidic magic." Raven explained. "The powers that Beastboy received when he was injected with that new form of Sakutia are druidic in nature. I'm trying to get as much information on it as I can."

"I am confused, is Beastboy not in control of his druidic power? Why do you need to do more research?" Starfire asked, Raven finally looked up from her reading to look her friend in the eye.

"Magic is an eternal mystery, not one person can claim they understand all aspects of it." The dark girl explained.

"But you and Beastboy understand enough do you not?" Starfire inquired, Raven turned her gaze away and started to look uncomfortable.

"There is an aspect of Beastboy's power that I'm worried about." The cloaked girl admitted. The Tamaranean girl thought for a moment.

"Is it the 'Creature' you spoke of a few months back?" Starfire questioned. Raven hesitated, but then nodded.

"Before we were able to seal it away in Garfield's mind, I saw firsthand what the madness it commanded did to him." Raven shook her head. "He told me that using his druidic powers taxed his sanity, since the Creature's sealing he hasn't exhibited any unusual behavior. Still, the fact that thing is still inside his brain bothers me. I want to find a way to erase it from Garfield completely once we find him."

"Is that possible?"

"Honestly I don't know, I'm hoping there is something in one of these books that could help me." Raven admitted, Starfire smiled.

"Beastboy is truly lucky to have a friend who is a girl like you Raven." The Tamaranean told her, inwardly Raven was touched, outwardly she just smiled slightly at her orange-skinned friend.

"Thanks Starfire."

"You are welcome." The alien girl plucked one of the floating books out of the air and opened it. "May I assist you for a few minutes before we head to the room of dining?"

"If you want, I'm not sure how much more we'll get done in the next few minutes though." Raven replied.

They continued in silence for the next few minutes. The only sounds the occasional turn of a page or a book settling gently to the floor courtesy of Raven's powers. So the sudden sound of Starfire gasping seemed louder to Raven than it should have. A vein throbbed on the dark girl's forehead as she looked in the direction of her alien friend.

"What is it?" She asked, trying not to sound irritated, and failing.

"Raven you will want to see this." Starfire answered, her tone caused any annoyance Raven felt to immediately evaporate. She made her way to where Starfire was standing and took the book from her hands.

As soon as the cloaked Titan laid eyes on the open page she immediately realized why the alien girl's happy demeanor changed into a serious one. The page was not a bunch of text like she expected, it was an illustration. An illustration of men in ancient times battling each other. Which wouldn't be a big deal by itself.

But these men had green skin.

"What does it mean Raven?" Starfire asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. Raven checked the book, it was ancient. Could the Sakutia virus have existed in some sort of form long ago?

"I don't know Starfire." Raven said grimly, now with more questions in her head than answers. "I really don't know."

* * *

_South Africa, a few miles from the Cape Town Harbor._

"Gentleman why the long faces?" The man known as Talthas asked the six people tied up in front of him. The captain of the crew and five of his crew members were on their knees in the middle of what was the cruise ship's dance floor. To the left of Talthas was the empty bar and to the right was the lounge area where seats and tables were assorted, all of them were empty.

"What is the meaning of this Talthas?" The captain demanded, he was a solidly built fellow with grey hair and a bushy mustache. "I thought we had the same goals of spreading chaos to these infidels and establishing a new order in South Africa!"

"Trust me captain, the people of South Africa will be enlightened." Talthas reassured him. "Just not the way you imagined."

"You would betray us?" One of the crew members shouted, he was a solidly-built man in his thirties, dark-haired whiskers covered the lower half of his face. "Damned traitor!" Talthas turned his gaze upon the crew member, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Traitor?" The masked man said, slowly making his way towards the outspoken crew member. "To be a traitor would mean that I believed in your cause. When I asked for your help in commandeering this ship and helping to get it into the harbor unnoticed, you didn't even question my motives." He knelt down so that he was eye level with the whiskered crew member. "You blindly assumed that I shared your hate of these 'Infidels.' How pitiful."

Faster than the eye could track, Talthas wrapped the fingers of his left hand around the man's throat, standing up and lifting the man effortlessly into the air. The crew member let out a choked gasp, his feet dangling uselessly several inches above the ground. Talthas continued to stare at him impassively.

"You mangy wolves, so eager to slaughter the sheep in front of you that you don't see the snake in the grass beneath your feet. Ready to strike with it's venomous fangs." Talthas stated, with little effort he flung the man into the bar. The solidly-built crew member crashed into the hardwood of the counter with his spine and slid unceremoniously to the floor. He was coughing excessively as he tried to get back up to his knees, which was tough since his hands and arms were bound.

Again Talthas slowly made his way towards the downed sailor, stalking him. Smoke appeared near the masked man's right hand solidifying into a single-edged blade. Bits of the smoke still emanated from the sword, rising lazily into the air.

"Take to your grave the knowledge that your vision will never be realized." Talthas said darkly, stabbing the man in the chest with the sword. The man's eye's widened and he opened his mouth to gasp, but nothing came out, he was already dead. Talthas withdrew the blade from the dead man's chest, watching the corpse keel over and lie still. The other bound sailors realized something rather alarming.

There wasn't a single scratch on the body, no blood, no wounds, nothing.

"Now that I'm near Cape Town's harbor, I only have one more use for you." The masked man stated, pulling a hexagonal shaped vial filled with red fluid from his coat. The remaining crew immediately recoiled at the sight of it.

"No way is that the...? You...! You can't be serious!" The captain sputtered out, Talthas glared at him so intensely that his fear of the vial was momentarily surpassed by the violence promised in that glare.

"Ask yourself this question captain." The masked man started, holding the vial in front of him. "Do I look like the type to joke?" He tossed the vial a little bit into the air and caught it, repeating the process a few times. "I am expecting guests, I would be a poor host if I didn't greet them properly."

With those words, Talthas threw the vial at the ground in front of the bound men, shattering it. As soon as the air made contact with the red fluid inside it turned into a gas. The men began coughing and groaning in pain when they inhaled it, crumpling to the floor. The men's bodies contorted in pain as they cried out for death or mercy as the pain overwhelmed them. Talthas merely turned his back on the men and walked away.

"Hurry up and show yourself Mr. Logan, my patience wears thin." The masked man hissed to himself, the screams of dying men his only reply.


	8. Powderkeg of Hate

**A/N: Been a long time since I updated. I have very little free time nowadays, so I apologize for a very late chapter. I still haven't forgotten about this story though, don't worry.**_  
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**No review responses for Chapter Seven, there were no reviews.  
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**Enjoy.  
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* * *

_(Nine years ago, The Ivory Coast.)_

_Three children hovered at the edge of a tree line, watching a distant cloud of dust on the horizon. Two of the children sported white hair, while the third had a short crop of dark hair. All three sporting dark skin, one of the kids, a girl no older than ten, was looking through some binoculars at the dust cloud. They were nervous, for the dust cloud was the product of armed soldiers marching, and they were marching toward their home._

_"It's not looking good." Michela reported grimly, looking through the binoculars that she herself had made. "There are a lot of troops coming." Baruzar shook his head._

_"This is nuts! what're we gonna do? We can't handle this!" The dark-haired ten-year old panicked. Naji silenced him with a fierce glare._

_"This is what Zalthien was trying to prepare us for." He told them. "He trained us to control our abilities in order to defend our home and that's what we're gonna do!"_

_"There's just four of us Naji! How are we supposed to stop an army!? We're just kids!" Baruzar shot back._

_"We're not kids Baruzar! We're something more! We have the power to stop these guys. But if you're going to stand there and doubt yourself then you've already been beaten!" Naji snapped back._

_"Is there no other way? Maybe we could run." Michela suggested, Naji shook his head._

_"This army has been rolling across the Ivory Coast like a wave of destruction, there is no escape." Naji informed them, a somber silence ensued until a green cheetah broke through the brush behind them, quickly morphing back into the green-skinned Garfield Logan. The green boy had a serious look on his face as Naji turned to face him._

_"How's it look Garfield?" The elder boy asked, the green-skinned kid frowned._

_"Tanks and robot soldiers, lots of them. Some old guy is leading them." Garfield reported._

_"Lots?" Naji questioned._

_"Umm like a hundred?" Garfield responded tentatively._

_"A hundred? You sure?" Naji inquired, Garfield threw his hands up in exasperation._

_"I don't know Naji! I didn't have time to individually count them all! It was hard enough as it is sneaking back unnoticed." Garfield replied as loud as he dared, trying not to give away their position._

_"Sorry Garfield, didn't mean to sound angry." The elder boy apologized, "The old man, did he have some sort of military uniform on?" The green boy nodded._

_"Yes, he did why?" Garfield asked, Naji's lips tightened._

_"That must be General Immortus, Zalthien gave me some information on him, he's supposed to be a really smart bad guy." Naji informed the other kids._

_"Smart like me?" Michela asked, Naji turned to her._

_"Smarter I'm afraid." The elder boy answered his sister. Baruzar was in disbelief._

_"Smarter than Michela? How are we supposed to deal with that? Michela invents new stuff every day!" The dark-haired boy exclaimed._

_"Yeah, if this guy can make a better waffle-maker than Michela we're in trouble!" Garfield added, half-serious, half-joking. Naji fixed them with a stern look._

_"This is serious everyone. General immortus is supposed to be a master tactician..." Naji started, but was interrupted by his sister._

_"What's a tactician?" Michela questioned._

_"Someone who's good at fighting strategies." Naji answered. "No doubt he's got better strategies than us, but Zalthien said he's also arrogant and we can use that to our advantage."_

_"How're we gonna do that?" Garfield asked._

_"With his arrogance he'll probably underestimate us, his guard will be down. If we all work together, we can do a surprise attack that could devastate his troops so bad he'll be forced to withdraw." The white-haired boy explained, Michela and Garfield nodded their assent, but Baruzar was hesitant._

_"This is a long shot Naji, I don't know about this." The dark-haired boy voiced his concern, Garfield turned to glare at him._

_"This is the only chance we have! We can't just let them march in here and destroy our home! I'll fight tooth and nail to keep everyone safe! Wouldn't you?" The green boy exclaimed._

_"I...I..." Baruzar stuttered then lowered his head in shame. "Yes I would Garfield." Garfield returned his attention to Naji._

_"Okay then Naji, what's the plan?" The green boy asked, Naji smiled._

_"I got a good one, we'll hit that old geezer so hard, he'll get a thousand extra wrinkles from the stress! Listen closely." The elder boy said as he proceeded to tell the three younger kids his plan._

* * *

_(Present day,Michela's Hideout, somewhere near Cape Town, South Africa)_

The sounds of footsteps awoke Michela from her dream. She'd had it before, a dream about battling General Immortus when they were kids. It was all so vivid, replaying in her head like a movie.

Reliving the disaster the battle turned out to be.

"Nadia has two patrol boats moving to intercept the Aphrodite, a SWAT team is going to search the boat. They have orders to disengage if Talthas is aboard." Beastboy announced as he entered Michela's circular chamber once more. Stirring the gun-slinging girl from her thoughts. "They're leaving him to us."

"Good. That's how I want it." Michela replied, typing away at her holo-keyboard "I'm going to fill Talthas full of holes for what he did to our home." Beastboy nodded in agreement. The rage he felt over the village he had called home as a young boy was still smoldering within him. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Talthas.

"Just make sure not to kill him, Nadia and Detective Callen need him alive for questioning." The changeling stated, Michela's lips tightened, the image of Naji's smiling face covered in blood passed through her brain. She stopped typing and sighed, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes in an attempt to get the memories to stop coming. Noticing her distress, Beastboy walked over to her back and went to place his left hand on her right shoulder.

The changeling immediately found a revolver pointed at his face before his hand made contact. Michela's fierce gaze bore into him, her dark brown eyes bloodshot and her lips were parted, revealing clenched teeth as she snarled at him.

"Don't." She spoke, Beastboy took a slow deliberate step backwards. She was on a hair trigger and the former Titan wouldn't be surprised if she just shot him anyway. Five very tense seconds passed before Michela finally holstered her weapon. "I don't need your concern Garfield."

"Something on your mind?" Beastboy asked, "It hasn't been easy for me either Michela." The white-haired girl snorted in disgust.

"Don't talk to me about easy Garfield, you got the best deal out of all of us." She told him, the changeling sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the steel wall.

"Would it help if I told you all the bad things that happened to me since the Lost Pyramid incident?" He asked sarcastically.

"No." Michela responded simply, once again typing furiously on the holo-keyboard. Beastboy felt frustation bubble within him.

"Alright then, how about you tell me how the nice girl I used to know turned into a gunslinging bitch." He snapped, she stopped typing to turn around and face him, putting on her fiercest glare. "Glare at me all you want, trust me when I say I've seen far worse than yours."

Michela glared at her former friend a few more seconds before snorting in annoyance and closing her eyes, massaging her forehead with her right index finger and thumb.

"I have done things Garfield, horrible things, all in the name of survival. I'm not proud of a lot of the deeds I've done, but they were necessary for me to keep living. Seeing the things I've seen changes people, it scars and taints them."

"So I take it you're cooperating with the Cape Town Police Force to get some type of amnesty?" Beastboy asked, Michela stopped massaging her forehead and stared blankly at the holo-screen in front of her.

"Yeah, I have enough blood on my hands, I look young, but I feel old beyond my years." She told him, the changeling was silent for a few moments while he gathered his thoughts.

"So, after we take out Talthas and the police wipe your slate clean, what do you plan to do?" He finally inquired, breaking the short awkward silence.

"I'm not sure." Was Michela's answer.

"I could try to help you become an honorary Titan..." Beastboy was interrupted by Michela's loud laughter.

"What? and be a boyscout superhero like you used to be? Sorry Garfield, I can already tell that wouldn't work out. Your old friends wouldn't like the way I do things." The white-haired girl informed him. The former Titan shrugged.

"Just thought I'd offer it." He said, Michela finished typing and rose from her chair.

"I don't need charity, especially from you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do one last equipment check before we head out." The gunslinging girl said, heading for the exit, as she was walking past Beastboy, he spoke again.

"Michela. Listen, I know I'm not exactly your favorite person right now, but we need to be on the same page for this. If we start fighting with each other while trying to catch Talthas things could go south very fast." Beastboy explained, Michela cast an annoyed glare at her former friend

"Then don't be on the wrong side of my guns when I'm shooting the bastard." Came the white-haired girl's reply, the green morphling shook his head impatiently.

"That won't work, I've faced a lot of villains as a former Titan, most were small-time, just looking to steal technology or rob banks." He started, Michela noticed there was an intensity in his eyes. "There were a few however who were much more dangerous than that, their plans not only threatened the city we lived in, but the entire world as well." His eyes narrowed at Michela then, trying to read her. "Reading Talthas' file, my instincts tell me he's the latter. I need your word that you won't shoot me in the back while we fight him." Michela sighed.

"I thought I already told you Garfield, if I didn't need your help in taking down Talthas, I would have put a hole in your skull already. I won't turn on you while he's still on the loose, you have my word." She promised him, Beastboy held his stare for a moment longer, then gave a slow nod.

"Alright then, let's make this bastard regret the day he decided to destroy our old home." The former superhero said to her, Michela's response was a savage smile.

"For once, we agree."

* * *

_(Cape Town Harbor, South Africa.)_

The stars were covered by the clouds this night, Beastboy found himself more saddened by that then he should have been. Raven and him used to watch the stars on some nights, he could still recall the feeling of having her in his arms as they gazed at the small points of light in the sky. It was very peaceful.

He shook his head, he was homesick, there was no way of denying it to himself. He missed Jump City, he missed his friends, but more importantly he missed Raven. With the Justice League hunting him down he couldn't dare return now, maybe after Talthas got his ass kicked he could try to visit them secretly.

The changeling, Michela and Nadia were on a sleek boat, rapidly approaching the S.S. Aphrodite. The boat itself was mostly black, but with a few parts painted an electric blue. Michela had boasted about making the boat from scratch which he didn't doubt, the girl always did have a knack for inventions.

Michela was currently driving, the goggles that she usually wore around her neck were now covering her eyes. Beastboy guessed it had some sort of nightvision on it. Nadia was riding shotgun, a radio clutched in her left hand. Occasionally the changeling would hear bits of chatter from the radio and Nadia would respond, she seemed a little agitated. Beastboy himself was sitting in the back, his right foot kept tapping the floor impatiently. Waiting was not one of his strong suits, he wanted to get out there and get his hands on Talthas as soon as possible.

A frustrated sigh escaped Nadia's lips as she placed the radio back in her pocket. Michela was seemingly ignoring it, putting all her attention on driving the boat. Beastboy however was very curious on what was going on. If they were going to have complications with this mission he wanted to know as soon as possible.

"Something wrong?" He asked the young police officer. Nadia turned to him and shook her head.

"I was trying to get a few more patrol boats over there, but I'm just a 'Rookie' police officer. Even the patrol boats and SWAT team out there now are only there as favors to Detective Callen." Nadia answered.

"So the higher-ups in the police don't think this Talthas guy is much of a threat? What a bunch of morons." Beastboy replied, Nadia shook her head again.

"It's not that, the problem is they think we don't have enough 'information' to go on to commit more forces. They say our information sources are 'Unreliable'. And they refuse to send more help in case we were misinformed." Nadia informed him with undisguised bitterness.

"So in other words we're pretty much on our own." Beastboy clarified, Nadia nodded.

"I'm afraid so yes." The young police officer stated, Michela grunted in response.

"That just means less people to get in my way." The gunslinging girl said, adding her piece to the conversation. The other two occupants of the boat stared at Michela for a moment before Beastboy turned back to Nadia with a grin.

"You know, she's got a point." He told the young police officer.

Nadia only partially shared his enthusiasm. As good as these two were, there was no doubt in her mind that their emotions were running high. One of the reasons she wanted more backup was in case one or both of them snapped and tried to kill Talthas instead of apprehending him. As it was currently, she would be powerless to prevent them from murdering the masked terrorist if they chose to with what she currently had. She only hoped all the good things she heard about Beastboy were still true, and that his time spent as an exiled superhero had not taken a toll on him.

They continued in silence for a few moments before Michela broke it.

"I've got the Aphrodite in sight." The white-haired girl reported. "It's dead ahead, your patrol boats are close as well, They are positioned on either side of us, so what's the plan Officer Vorum?"

"Stop here for a second, I'm going to get an update on the situation." Nadia answered, talking into her radio again. The chatter was normal police jargon until the young police officer suddenly stood up.

"What do you mean the SWAT team went in already!? They were supposed to wait for us!" Nadia shouted into the radio, Michela and Beastboy shared a glance as Nadia continued to listen impatiently for a response from the other end. Suddenly the young police officer's expression turned grim. "No radio contact for twenty minutes? No, don't send anyone else, we're going in." She placed the radio back on her belt and slammed her fist on the boat's dashboard in frustration.

"Let me guess they already botched this mission." Michela prodded, Nadia shook her head in response.

"No not yet, the assholes sent the SWAT team in early when they were specifically told NOT to. They were supposed to wait for us, so we could back them up if things took a turn for the worse." The young police officer explained, Beastboy shook his head.

"So, shit hit the fan and we weren't here to bail them out. This doesn't bode well for the SWAT team." Beastboy said, adding his piece to the conversation.

"Unfortunately you're right, they haven't had any contact with the team for twenty minutes. So it's up to us to see what the hell is going on in the Aphrodite." Nadia informed them, Michela gunned the boat's engines, sending them toward the cruise ship.

"Let's get started then, my trigger finger is getting itchy." The gunslinging girl told them.

"An itchy finger? Should probably get that checked out, there's probably a cream for that." Beastboy joked, Michela's white eyebrows furrowed into a glare.

"Shut up." She said simply, Beastboy chuckled.

"Had to do it, it's in my nature." He replied with a smirk.

"Your nature can go to Hell." She shot back.

Nadia tensed at their exchange, they were only a few steps from being hostile with each other. Just her luck that her two major allies in apprehending Talthas had bad history with one another. Hopefully this would be over soon and Talthas would be in custody, she shuddered to think of the possibility of Beastboy and Michela having to work together for an extended period of time.

There was no more time to dwell on the subject though as the Aphrodite loomed in front of them less than three hundred feet away. It was time to start the mission.


	9. Dangerous Realizations

**A/N: ****Yeah the updates have been really sparse, but the good news is that I finally have a little extra free time to come back to this story. I'll admit it's taking a little while to ramp up. But I do have some epic things in store for Beastboy, Raven, and the rest of the Titans, don't worry. **

**EDITS: 3/10/13, had to edit a bit of dialogue between Michela and Beastboy as it kind of didn't make sense.**

* * *

Using grappling hooks from Michela's ship. Nadia and Michela were able to climb up the stern of the Aphrodite. Beastboy chose to use his wings, all in all the trio had boarded the cruise ship without incident.

"It's way too quiet." Michela whispered, a revolver in her right hand as she scanned the immediate area. Nadia pulled out her radio and tried it.

"Spearhead one come in." The police officer said softly into the device, "Spearhead one respond." She hissed out a curse and placed the radio back on her belt, shaking her head at the other two.

The group moved from the stern, making their way to the lower decks and the cabins where the passengers slept. A narrow passageway painted a light yellow had several doors leading to the lodgings. The floor was covered in blue carpet designed with white stars, it looked luxurious and under normal circumstances Beastboy would definitely not feel comfortable here. It was way too fancy for him. A familiar coppery scent filled the green morphing's nose, drawing him from his thoughts. The scent was strong too, which wasn't a good sign. Michela noticed him sniffing the air.

"Picked up a scent?" She questioned, scanning the cabins for threats. He nodded grimly.

"Yeah, not a good one though." He replied, Nadia was assisting Michela in scanning the cabins, she looked at the changeling curiously.

"What kind of scent is it then?" The police officer asked, Beastboy spared her a quick glance.

"Blood, Officer Vorum, and from the smell of things a lot of it. This doesn't bode well for your SWAT team." He stated, a chill went down her spine as she thought of the possible fate of her fellow law enforcement officers.

"We should hurry." She responded, they continued down the corridor when Michela held up her left hand to halt them.

"Hold it. Goggles are picking up something in this room." Michela warned them, after receiving nods from the other two that they were ready for anything. The gun-slinging girl kicked the cabin door open. Lying in the center of the room was the dead body of a SWAT officer, lying on his back with a pool of blood underneath him. Nadia ran up and futilely checked the SWAT officer's pulse before slamming her fist onto the man's chest in frustration.

"Damn it!" She hissed angrily at the dead man, "Why didn't you wait? Backup was coming!" The young female police officer continued her useless pummeling for a few moments before stopping, shaking her head sadly. Michela knelt down on the other side of the deceased SWAT officer, her goggles flittering with different colored lights of blue, red and orange as they fed her information.

"Infrared picked him up, he hasn't been dead long. This was very recent." Michela reported, Beastboy was busy searching the room while the girls were investigating the dead body, in a corner of the room he found a peculiar sight.

"Look at this." He said out loud, Michela and Nadia's attention shifted towards him as he held up two pieces of a submachine gun, there was some bloodsplatter on the weapon. "This gun didn't just break, it was sliced in half. That's one hell of a sharp blade."

"A blade? None of the information we have says that Talthas uses blades." Nadia informed them, a confused look on her face. The changeling frowned, if he was Robin, he'd be able to tell what kind of blade did this and might be one step closer to figuring out who Talthas was behind the mask. However, he wasn't, he would just have to make do with what he picked up from his former leader instead.

"Maybe he does now." Beastboy responded with a shrug, "Come on, we should keep moving." They continued through the cabin area until they reached some stairs that led to the lower areas of the ship.

"According to the ship's blueprints, this is where the dining area is." Michela informed them. They entered a large area with a polished wooden floor, cushy chairs and round tables covered in red cloth were scattered about, most of them broken or overturned. Sadly, more dead Swat Officers were found in the room. Nadia fought to keep her composure, saddened at the loss of life. She knelt down next to one corpse and began examining it, noticing something interesting about the wounds.

"How many people did you have in the SWAT team officer Vorum?" Beastboy questioned, sniffing the air, there was another scent, it had a familiar tinge to it, but he couldn't place it.

"Six." Nadia answered simply. The changeling frowned.

"How many have we found so far?" He asked.

"Five." Michela answered simply, scanning the room with her goggles. Beastboy placed his left hand under his chin as he delved into his thoughts.

"So that leaves one unaccounted for huh? If we hurry, we might be able to find him alive." The former Titan suggested, Michela snapped her head in his direction and glared.

"Stop kidding yourself Garfield. He's just as dead as the rest of these guys and you know it. This team got too antsy and paid for it, lets stop wasting time finding dead people and get Talthas' ass already." The gun-slinging girl snarled at her former friend.

"You don't know that for sure Michela, he could be out there right now fighting for his life. We can't turn a blind eye to that." Beastboy responded, the white-haired gunslinger growled and made a sweeping gesture with her left hand.

"Look around you, whatever these guys ran into clearly outmatched them. I doubt this last SWAT guy had what it takes to survive against something that made short work of his team." She shot back, the two continued to argue as Nadia discovered something interesting. Namely the fatal wounds of the SWAT officer she was examining. There were four deep diagonal slashes across the man's chest. The female police officer realized that it wasn't blades that had killed these guys, it was claws.

"Guys." Nadia called out, but the two former friends didn't hear her over the intensity of their argument. "GUYS!" She shouted, frustrated. The two immediately stopped their bickering to turn towards her. "I don't think someone with a blade killed these men." That grabbed their attention.

"What?" Beastboy said, astonished. Michela's eyebrows furrowed into a glare.

"Then what was it?" The white-haired girl asked. Nadia motioned for them to come over and the two complied. Once they were close enough that they could inspect the body Nadia launched into her explanation. When she was finished, Michela shook her head.

"Claws huh? So what? We got some wild animals aboard?" The gun-slinging girl asked, Beastboy knelt down and placed his right hand on the claw wounds of the dead body. The changeling's attention solely focused on the wounds for a few moments before he turned to his allies.

"No, these claw wounds weren't made from any wild animal. It's something else. I don't like this" He admitted, "We should keep moving." The two young women nodded in agreement.

The group made their way to the end of the dining hall, the main exit doors wouldn't open for some reason and they were forced to look for an alternate route. They found one in a pair of polished wooden doors. Although the doors had a little give, they refused to budge any more than that.

"Something must be blocking it from the other side." Beastboy suggested, Michela's reply was to blow the doors to pieces with a shot from her revolver.

"Not anymore." She said simply. Stepping through where the doors used to be and entering an area she would least expect to find on a cruise ship. "A library? Really?" Beastboy stepped in after her and looked around, giving a little whistle.

"Wow, Raven would totally love this." He said, genuinely impressed. Many rows of bookshelves lined the large room. Although the changeling could spot a lot of the generic romance novels, his eyes did pick out a good number of horror books. Yes, Raven would really like this place.

"Raven? Your girlfriend is Raven?" Michela questioned, Beastboy raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, it is." He replied simply. The white-haired girl snorted.

"You mean to tell me that dark and broody girl is a complete bookworm?" She scoffed, Beastboy grinned.

"I guess you could say that." Was his response, at this point Nadia came through the now clear entrance and began scanning the room, moving ahead of the pair. Michela followed her example, using her goggles to scan for anything that could be missed by the naked eye.

"So what's she like?" The gun-slinging badgirl suddenly asked, "I can't imagine seeing you with someone like that."

"Scary." Beastboy answered with a smile.

"Scarier than me?" She questioned curiously.

"You're a different kind of scary." He replied.

"So what? You're scared of your girlfriend, what kind of relationship is that?" She questioned sarcastically, the former Titan shook his head.

"Oh no it's nothing like that, at first she scared the shit out of me. As I got to know her though I found out she was many more things than scary. She was mysterious, alluring, and has one hell of a sharp tongue..." He trailed off, wagging his eyebrows at his former friend. "And one damn fine kisser to boot." He finished, Michela made a retching noise.

"Yuck if I see you gush anymore I think my head might explode." She told him, Beastboy just shrugged.

"Hey, you were the one who was asking about my relationship with her, well now you know." The changeling responded, Michela grunted.

"I think I was better off not knowing." She remarked, he chuckled in response.

"Well curiosity did kill the cat." He informed her.

"I'm not a cat." She growled, annoyed. Beastboy put a hand to his chin and pretended to examine her.

"I don't know, put some whiskers and a tail on you and you just might pass for one." He told her, Michela ground her teeth to suppress her rage.

"I really hate you." She snarled, Beastboy sighed.

"You tried to shoot my head off after seeing me again for the first time in Eight years, believe me I know." The changeling said, he was enjoying their little banter right up until that moment. Being reminded that his friendship with one of his very first friends was all but destroyed was quickly putting him back into a melancholy mood. Before he could sink further into his funk, the two heard Nadia call out.

"Over here! I've got wounded!" The female police officer shouted. Beastboy and Michela quickly made a beeline to Nadia's position. There, the two former friends discovered Nadia knelt down next to a SWAT officer with a hastily wrapped bandage on his upper right leg. He was in a sitting position with his back up against a wall. Nadia had taken off his mask and from the look of things he had been unconscious until recently. As the officer's eyes lost their glazed over look he quickly noticed that he was no longer alone in the room.

"Officer Vorum?" He said tentatively, not yet believing what he was seeing, Nadia nodded.

"Yes it's me. Are you going to be okay?" She asked him, the SWAT officer groaned in pain as he ran a hand over the wound on his right leg.

"I don't think I'll be running anytime soon, and my skull feels like it's about to split apart, but I think I can manage." He reported.

"Good, I need you to tell me what happened here." Nadia ordered, the SWAT officer hissed in pain and shifted slightly before continuing.

"We got too anxious, thought we could succeed where other people had failed, but we were wrong. This masked guy, he's got...'Things' on this ship, savage bastards, they took out my team like they were amateurs. I managed to barricade myself in here, but not before getting a few injuries of my own." He informed them all, Nadia's eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Things? What kind of things?" She prodded, Beastboy also began to be concerned. What kind of reinforcements could Talthas have?

"They had redskin, glowing purple eyes, and I think they were once human. They looked like the victims of the masked guy's bombings. Except these were very much alive, and very angry." The SWAT officer warned, Michela let out an angry huff.

"Great, now we got to deal with some crazies." The gunslinging young woman grumbled, Beastboy was only half paying attention. The officer's description of what attacked his team, the photos that Detective Callen had shown him, and the distantly familiar scent he had picked up, it all added up to one thing. He couldn't believe he didn't figure it out before. How could he have been so stupid? These people, these creatures, they looked just like Ravager had when she had injected herself with something during their last encounter five months ago. The one-eyed girl became a force to be reckoned with after the injection, they had battled each other to a standstill. The only reason he had defeated her was because he had temporarily lost all sanity and his crazed self put her down for the count.

The changeling shuddered, if Talthas has managed to copy that formula Ravager had used, then things were about to get a lot worse. He shook his head at the sheer magnitude of the problem he was now facing. Grudgingly he admitted this could be beyond his ability to handle. He had to get the word out, he had to warn his friends. He had to warn the Titans just in case.

"Nadia radio your team waiting on the boat, I need them to get into contact with someone for me." He suddenly piped up, Nadia searched his face, noticing his sudden change in demeanor.

"What's wrong Mr. Logan?" She asked him.

"I just realized what we are dealing with, we have to warn the higher-ups in Cape Town. We may have to evacuate the whole city..." He started, but was interrupted by Michela.

"What? Evacuate? Why the hell would we do that? How dangerous could these crazies possibly be?" The goggle-wearing girl questioned, Beastboy glared at her.

"Dangerous enough to easily take out a SWAT team, if they can do that to specially trained law enforcement then there's no telling what they could do if they made it to the general populace." He answered her grimly, the white-haired girl laughed.

"Yeah, but these things don't have anything on people like us Garfield. I really don't see what the problem is." Michela replied, the changeling's expression turned grim.

"The problem is that the bombs Talthas used in his previous four attacks contained something, something bad. Detective Callen stated that most victims in the bombings died, but some did survive and if they did..." He trailed off at the bleak possibility. Realization dawned on Nadia as the color drained from her face.

"Are you saying that there could be more of those things out there? At the places that Talthas bombed?" The female police officer inquired, Beastboy nodded at her. Michela finally realized the scope of their problem and let out a string of curses.

"That's exactly what I mean. We need to get the word out, warn as many people as we can." The former superhero's face hardened. "And we need to stop Talthas before he uses it again, or we could have one of the worst epidemics in human history on our hands." Nadia nodded, pulling out her radio.

"Right, hang on I'll contact the team outside and..." Before Nadia could finish a terrible screech filled everyone's ears. The sounds of multiple feet rapidly shuffling across the ship's carpet could be heard. The SWAT officer's eyes went wide.

"Oh shit! they're here! We gotta run!" He exclaimed, before anyone could move, a red blur shot across the room and slammed into Nadia, causing her to drop her radio. The female police officer fell onto her back, slamming her head onto the floor as she did so. Quickly she shook her head to clear her vision and when she did she was greeted by the sight of what could only be described as a red demon standing over her.

The thing had once been a man, but his skin was now a dark red. His eyes glowed a strangely entrancing violet color while his lips were peeled back to reveal sharp pointy teeth. The creature was snarling ferociously and drips of saliva were trailing down the right side of his lip. His left hand was raised and Nadia saw that the fingernails were covered in blood, they too, looked very sharp. He looked like a mad dog, a demonic mad dog from Hell.

Nadia didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was scared. The mission had turned into a true nightmare, far more horrifying than she had ever imagined...


	10. Zealousness of the Damned

**A/N: Apologies for the long wait, took a long break from writing and am trying to get back in the swing of things. This chapter is the result.**

* * *

The sound of Michela's revolver firing broke Nadia from her thoughts, she saw the blue ray of light pierce the red-skinned infected's skull. It jerked suddenly and then went limp falling on top of Nadia. The young police officer quickly shoved the dead creature off her and turned to say thanks to the gun-slinging girl for saving her life.

She never got the chance. As a second infected dove toward Michela, who managed to get off one more shot that pierced the thing's left shoulder. It staggered, slowing a little before delivering a vicious backhand, slamming it's right forearm into the gun-slinging girl's stomach. Michela went flying against the steel wall, slamming into it hard, she let out a grunt of pain, but still managed to fire another shot at the creature. This one went right through the infected's sternum.

Surprisingly the thing wasn't dead yet, it collapsed to it's knees from the force of the blast, but it was still crawling towards Michela, snarling like a maniac. Before the white-haired girl could fire another shot a three-foot long wooden spike impaled it's skull. Finally the infected ceased it's relentless pursuit, lying still. Michela looked up to see Beastboy standing over the now-dead infected, the wooden spike protruding from the outside of his right forearm.

"I had it!" Michela told him, highly annoyed. The former Titan didn't even respond, turning to face the door from which they came as more infected came through it.

"No time to be indignant. We got more incoming." He finally replied, sparing a quick glance to Nadia who was getting to her feet. "Get your damn radio and tell your people out there that we need reinforcements NOW!" He shouted to her, impaling an infected through the chest with his spike and slamming it into the ground spine-first. Nadia wasted no time and set to work finding the last place she had seen her radio fall to.

Unfortunately it looked like life wasn't going to make it that simple for her. While she did indeed find the radio, it was broken, probably when that damned infected tackled her.

This was bad.

"Beastboy!" She called out to the fugitive superhero, "The radio's no good! not even static!" She heard the morphling curse, he was fighting yet another infected, the previous one was still pinned to the ground by the wooden spike, which he had broken off to keep it there.

The changeling ducked under a horizontal slash the infected delivered with it's left hand. The former human snarled and followed through with a vertical swipe with it's right hand, intending to cut Beastboy in half from skull to groin. With quick reflexes, the former Titan managed to grab the infected's right wrist with his right hand before it could reach his face. Immediately he delivered a boot to the thing's chest with his right foot, it slid back a good twelve feet before stopping, still on it's feet.

The infected's lips peeled back to reveal it's sharp teeth in all it's glory, it then opened it's mouth and delivered a piercing scream. Not only did it play hell on Beastboy's ears, but an invisible force also hit him like a sledgehammer, sending him back into the wall. He let his left shoulder take the brunt of the impact, reaching out with his right hand and summoning a giant yellow anaconda. The huge snake wrapped itself around the infected and bit down on the infected's neck. The former human roared in pain and rage, in a manner of seconds though it's struggles became weak and it collapsed to the floor.

Beastboy steadied himself on his feet and mentally berated himself. He had gotten rusty since he had left the Titans. With Nadia's radio out, they had no way to communicate to anyone outside the boat. The injured SWAT officer didn't look like he had one on his person either. He should have brought one of his own communicators with him just in case or at least asked Michela if she had some, after all, inventing a device like that would be simple for her. However, using his communicator would quickly allow the Justice League to home in on his position and that would just add another problem to their mounting troubles.

He shook his head to try to shrug off the doubts building in his brain, there was no use worrying about it now. He had underestimated his enemy, all he could do now was damage control. There might still be a way to salvage this mission, it was a longshot, but his immediate choices were slim. He made eye contact with Nadia.

"We have to get you off this boat." He said to her, Nadia's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"Are you kidding me? I don't think these things will just let us leave!" She responded.

"That's why Michela and I are going to hold them off. We have to warn the city about this or more people are going to die." Beastboy replied, his face grim. "Take your man with you and go."

Nadia nodded and hoisted the SWAT officer up. Draping his right arm over her shoulder and wrapping her left arm around his waist, supporting his weight. The officer moaned in pain, but didn't complain. Once he was secure she turned to the changeling once more.

"Are you sure you guys are going to be okay?" She asked in concern, clearly these infected people weren't human anymore and were strong enough to slow down even a former Titan. If there were a lot more of them...

The sound of Michela's revolver firing jarred Nadia from her thoughts as she watched the white-haired girl shoot the infected that was pinned to the ground from Beastboy's wooden spike. The blast completely destroyed the thing's head and it finally ceased it's struggles.

"We'll be fine, I wasn't leaving until I settled my score with Talthas anyway." Michela declared, her eyes devoid of any compassion.

"We'll cover your retreat, probably be best to go back the way we came since we checked those areas already, it should still be clear." The changeling told her and without saying another word he stepped back out into the dining area where they had just come from, Michela close behind him. Nadia followed, the SWAT officer in tow.

"Fuck." Michela's curse wasn't shouted, but it might as well have been for how good it carried. Nadia looked up to see why the gun-slinging girl had cursed and the color drained from her face.

The doors that posed as the main exit of the dining hall were shaking and rattling. They appeared to be made from heavy oak and looked quite durable. However appearances were deceiving as an arm suddenly punched a hole through the door like it was made of cardboard, an arm with skin that was scarlet in color. As Nadia and the others watched another arm punched through, and then there was another. Multiple angry growls were sounding from the other side of the doors. Like demons that were trying to break out of Hell. An icy chill went down Nadia's spine.

"Go!" Beastboy barked, readying himself for the incoming onslaught of infected, Michela too, was taking aim with one of her revolvers. Nadia couldn't believe it, there could be dozens of those things beyond those doors and they were actually going to try and fight them!?

"There's no way you two can take all of those by yourself!" Nadia shouted in disbelief, she was shocked when Beastboy rolled his eyes in response.

"Everyone always loves to underestimate the good guys don't they?" He remarked, Michela actually smirked.

"I actually agree, fancy that." Michela responded not unkindly to her old friend, "Don't count us out yet Nadia, we'll hold our own. Just bail out of here and warn the city. We got this." The revolver-wielding girl said. Nadia shook her head, they were incredibly brave, and incredibly crazy.

"But...you guys might not make it." She protested, Beastboy waved her off.

"This is what a superhero does, putting themselves at risk to ensure the people's safety. It won't be the first time." He replied. "I do have one favor to ask though."

"What is it?" Nadia asked, curious. Beastboy didn't take his eyes off the besieged doors.

"I need you to go back to my house, there's a communicator there. I want you to contact my former team and warn them of what's happened here." The former Titan ripped something from his neck and tossed it to the female police officer who caught it easily. A quick study of the object revealed to Nadia that it was a golden necklace, an emerald attached to it.

"What's this for?" Nadia questioned, genuinely confused.

"That's proof that the warning is legit. Raven will recognize that." Beastboy answered. Nadia nodded and pocketed the necklace. She looked back at the two, feeling she should say something more, they were putting their lives on the line after all. Words failed her though.

At that moment, the doors finally gave. The first two infected that charged in were met by a blast of Michela's revolver, knocking them back through the doorway from where they came. Beastboy quickly followed by sealing the door back up with a barkwall. Unfortunately it meant little as one infected had snuck into the ventilation system and dropped in from the ceiling, seeking to pounce on the changeling's head.

To the infected's surprise the only thing it struck with it's claws was the floor. The former human looked around frantically with it's violet eyes trying to locate it's prey, a small green fly quickly caught it's attention as it took a moment to stare at the small bug curiously. In an eyeblink, the green fly quickly morphed into a giant green sasquatch. In another eyeblink, the sasquatch slammed the bottom of it's meaty right fist into the back of the infected's skull, sending it face-first into the floor. It did not move again. The sasquatch quickly morphed back into the form of Beastboy who spared Nadia a glance.

"Less staring, more running Nadia! We're counting on you!" He shouted at her, which stirred the female police officer out of her stupor. Readjusting her grip on the wounded SWAT officer, Nadia started to make her way back the way they had come in.

She was halfway up the stairs leading back to the cabin area when she heard some feral growling from behind her. Nadia felt the panic rising as she turned around, drawing her handgun in the process while still keeping the SWAT officer supported with her left arm. Sure enough, one of the infected had somehow gotten by Michela and Beastboy.

The infected was drooling, breathing heavily and excitedly as it dashed towards it's prey. Nadia fired three times with her gun, hitting the red-skinned creature in the abdomen, left shoulder and it's right eye. The infected didn't miss a beat, continuing to run at them. The young female officer bit her lip, trying to quickly decide what to do.

"Shoot the pipes!" The SWAT officer exclaimed, not wasting another second, Nadia followed his instructions and readjusted her aim, firing two shots into the pipes. Two jets of very hot steam shot out from the holes in the pipes, catching the infected unawares. The steam had blown into the red-skinned creature's remaining eye and it howled in rage and agony. Now blind, the infected was making wild swings with it's claws, slicing up anything within range.

Figuring they had overstayed their welcome, Nadia practically dragged the poor wounded SWAT officer the rest of the way up the stairs and into the cabin area. Where she shut the heavy steel door and locked it. The two law enforcement officers took opposite walls and leaned against them, trying to catch their breath.

"I...I think I can stand on my own now..." The SWAT officer announced, putting some weight on his injured right leg to test it. Nadia was dubious.

"Are you sure? It looked pretty bad." The female police officer stated, her fellow law enforcement officer's lips were compressed in a tight grim line.

"Yeah well, we've only slowed that freak down back there, it'll be back on us in no time and if that happens there will be no way we can make it off this ship with you carrying me." He told her, any further conversation was interrupted by loud banging coming from the steel door. Giving the duo just enough warning to move away.

"Go!" Nadia shouted and to the wounded SWAT officer's credit, he was able to move at a brisk pace even with his hurt leg, maybe it was the adrenaline. The sound of metal giving away and the growls of infected in the ventilation shafts spurred the two law enforcement officers to greater speed, they only had precious seconds before they were swarmed by them.

* * *

The emerald-colored stegosaurus batted a pair of infected away with the swipe of it's mighty tail, shifting back into the familiar form of Beastboy afterwards. He took a moment to assess the situation. The infected were coming from everywhere, the ceiling, the walls and even the floor. Just how many were there?

He was jarred out of his thoughts when an infected tackled him. Thanks to training and reflexes, Beastboy was able fall on his shoulders rather than his spine and roll backwards. While he was doing this he tucked in his legs and straightened them with all his strength. The kick tossed the infected from him before it could take a bite out of his right shoulder. He quickly sprung to his feet, but before the changeling could continue his counterattack he heard the telltale sign of Michela's revolver firing. A moment later the infected fell at his feet without a head, unmoving.

"Thanks." He called out to his old friend, turning his attention back to three charging infected. With a gesture of his right hand, light brown roots exploded out from the floor under the trio of red-skinned monstrosities, ensnaring them.

Meanwhile Michela was ducking under a diving infected, letting it sail over her head. The white-haired girl then slammed the handle of the revolver in her right hand into the face of one of it's brethren that was foolish enough to get in her melee range. Michela put a round in the infected's head as it was falling, killing it before it even hit the ground.

"These assholes are really starting to get annoying Garfield." Michela remarked, the former Titan winced as the roots he conjured crushed the life out of the three infected they had captured. They were beyond saving, but he couldn't forget the fact that they used to be human beings. He felt himself clench his hand into a fist.

"Then lets end this little party." He replied, summoning a yellow mountain goat with his power. The horned animal instantly took off, running towards Michela. She didn't have time to react and put her hands in front of her defensively. The yellow mountain goat lowered it's head and leapt into the air. She was mentally berating herself for misjudging Garfield, the gun-slinging girl never imagined he'd turn on her like this. And then the mountain goat struck it's target.

Michela's eyes widened in surprise when she didn't feel any pain. She quickly snapped her head to her right, where the mountain goat had whizzed by her, missing her by inches and ramming into the infected that was sneaking up on her in that direction. The sneaky infected roared in frustration as it went sliding across the dining room floor.

With his old friend out of immediate danger, Beastboy grit his teeth and slammed his right palm into the ground. Yellow lines of energy originating from his palm began traveling rapidly across the floor, walls and ceiling until they reached the general area of where the remaining infected were. Once close enough, the yellow energy quickly exploded outward and transformed into a bundle of sharp wooden spikes. The spikes impaled the rest of the infected that were occupying the dining room, some feebly tried to pry themselves from them, but ultimately succumbed to death.

Michela looked on in amazement. Beastboy had single-handedly taken out every single infected in the room. It was a rather impressive sight, she could see now why he had become a member of the Doom Patrol and later a Titan. She didn't show this on her face though when she turned to glare at the changeling.

"Idiot! Why didn't you do that sooner?!" She yelled at him, but quickly dropped her angry expression when she caught sight of her old friend, he looked troubled.

"Because I wasn't sure if I could be this precise." He replied, drinking in the scene before him.

The scene of a massacre.

Blood was running everywhere from the bodies of the impaled infected. It flowed like a waterfall from the walls, dripped from the ceiling and pooled on the floor. Blood everywhere he looked, from people just trying to enjoy a cruise and were infected with some killer virus. Even though they had lost their minds, even though they had tried to kill him and his friends, it still filled him with regret. That regret soon turned into a boiling anger, anger at Talthas for unleashing this virus and turning innocent people into monsters.

"My, my." A new male voice suddenly sounded, with his ears Beastboy quickly pinpointed the owner of the voice coming through the double oak doors that were demolished by the infected. "And people call me a bane on society, look at how many people you just killed." The man walking into the dining room was unmistakable, not for the long black leather jacket or the dark green cargo pants and black boots. But for the blue mask he wore that completely covered his face except for his blood-red eyes with black sclera surrounding them.

"Talthas." Michela hissed, wasting no time in aiming her revolver at the masked terrorist. Talthas regarded her with a nod of his head in her direction.

"Ah the white-haired girl with the super-powered guns. While I admit it's good to see you again, I have some business to settle with your green friend here." The masked villain announced, Beastboy smirked, which had as much humor in it as Batman's scowl.

"That makes two of us then." The former Titan stated, excitement filled his veins at the thought of finally paying back the person responsible for destroying his old home village.


	11. Long Awaited Confrontations

_(Nine years ago, The Ivory Coast.)_

_The terrible battle seemed to last lifetimes and yet it was over all too soon._

_Naji's plan had worked, the steaming and sparking piles of General Immortus' creations were laid out before Garfield, a group of children had forced the master tactician to retreat. However, victory had come at a price._

_Garfield winced as he gripped his right shoulder, judging from the pain he felt when he moved it, the shoulder was probably dislocated. Which was bad, he didn't like the way Naji fixed dislocated shoulders, he had seen him do it on Michela and judging from the scream she emitted when he "Popped" the shoulder back into place, it looked painful, really painful. The small green boy did not look forward to that._

_The thought of Naji spurred Garfield on to greater speed. Michela's older brother had provided the distraction needed for the rest of them to "Flank" General Immortus, whatever that means, Naji and Michela were always using funny words like that. Unfortunately, by being the distraction, Naji was also forced to deal with a majority of the villain's forces. Naji was the strongest out of their little group, but even Garfield knew that may not be enough._

_So here he was racing to Naji's last known position. He would have morphed into a cheetah, but the battle had left him so spent that he didn't have the strength to. The best the small green changeling could manage was a limping jog in normal form. His body ached all over, and his throat was dry from all the screaming and shouting he had been doing._

_After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached it, Naji's last known position. Garfield stared in awe at the pile of destroyed robots, easily over fifteen feet tall. Did Naji do all of this? he didn't doubt it, Naji was pretty awesome. The small green boy was forced to climb over the pile. When he reached the top he caught sight of Michela, who was holding a limp Naji in her arms. Blood was everywhere._

_"No..." Young Garfield whispered to himself as he slid down the robot pile as fast as he could. He expected Naji to be hurt, but there was no way he could be dead! He just couldn't!_

_But as Garfield neared the siblings, as he saw the tears streaking Michela's little face, as he saw Naji's eyes staring sightlessly into the sky, he knew he was wrong._

_Naji was dead._

_Michela's wailing sobs echoed in his brain, but there was nothing Garfield could do for her. He knew from experience that there really was no consolation when you had just lost a loved one. There was no coping, no hiding of the pain, there was just a terrible emptiness as a piece of your heart felt like it was torn from you. Slowly Garfield lowered his head, his heart going out to poor Michela, who now had no family left, just like him._

_The sound of someone else sliding down the destroyed robot pile came to Garfield's attention. He turned his head to look behind him and saw Baruzar making his way towards him. He too looked like he had gone through a meat grinder, littered with cuts, bruises and dirt. The look on his face was one of pure fury. He seemed oblivous to both Naji's and Michela's condition._

_"Where is Naji!? That idiot almost got us all killed! I'm going to..." Baruzar started, attempting to walk past Garfield, but the young changeling stopped him, maneuvering to stand in his way and facing the dark-haired boy._

_"Don't..." Garfield said, quiet, but firm. Baruzar turned his furious gaze on him._

_"Get out of my way Garfield! I'm going to give Naji a piece of my mind! I'm not going to let him put me at risk any..." The dark-haired boy began ranting, but was interrupted when Garfield shoved him roughly with his good hand, making him fall on his butt rather ungracefully._

_"I said don't!" The green boy barked, "Now is not the time Baruzar!" and with that the changeling moved aside so Baruzar could get a good look at the crying Michela and Naji's dead body. Realization dawned on the dark-haired boy's face, but it quickly reverted back to his furious look. With a frustrated grunt, Baruzar got to his feet and stormed off._

_And through it all, Michela's sobbing cries continued to echo across the Ivory Coast. To Garfield, victory had never felt so bad._

* * *

"About time you showed changeling, I was beginning to think I'd die of boredom. It took quite a bit to coax you out of hiding." Talthas said, Beastboy noticed that when he spoke, puffs of smoke flew out of the breathing holes at the bottom of his mask.

"Being a target for the Justice League will do that to you." The former Titan responded neutrally. "Also, that mask, I mean really? I thought I was done dealing with Slade wanna-be's" He finished, rolling his eyes at the villain's appearance. Talthas took in the savage sight of the dining room, with all the dead, bleeding and impaled infected.

"I can assure you changeling that while Slade and I do have the same taste in masks, how we accomplish our goals is quite different." Talthas told him, "And as for being hunted by the Justice League, I can see why. I wonder how many more precious lives you will take in the near future?" The masked villain taunted, the green-skinned morphling's sarcastic demeanor quickly changed to an angry one and he smashed his right fist through a table.

"You turned them into vicious homicidal maniacs with a virus!" Beastboy shouted, "Don't try and turn this around on me! I'm not the one bombing innocent towns and villages!" Talthas tilted his head, pondering this.

"You're right. I guess in that sense we are one and the same." there was a glint in the villain's eye as he continued speaking. "People die around us."

"Guess what asshole, I'm nothing like you!" The changeling snarled, finally losing what little patience he had left. He charged at the masked bastard, images flashing through his mind of the photos Detective Callen had shown him and this spurred him on to greater speed. Pushing off with his feet, he extended his left foot and executed a jump-kick that would have made Robin proud.

Somehow Talthas managed to move fast enough to dodge him by leaping to his left. Beastboy's animal senses were going crazy, something about this guy wasn't normal. His kick should have connected and Talthas didn't seem to possess a form of super-speed, so why did it miss?

"Got him." Michela called out, firing with the revolver in her right hand, Talthas leaned to his left in mid-air and the blast grazed his right arm, narrowly avoiding a fatal shot. As Beastboy watched, he saw there wasn't a scratch on the masked villain's right arm. The changeling's glare deepened, there was no way Michela missed, he saw the contact, so how come there was no damage to Talthas? How the hell was he doing this?

As soon as Talthas' feet touched the floor he was airborne again, this time leaping toward Michela. The gun-slinging girl only had a second to react and she dove to her left. Talthas slammed his right fist into the ground she just vacated a moment later, making a small crater upon impact.

Beastboy saw his opening to attack, deciding to test a theory he fired a blast of yellow energy from his palm. It was a straight shot right to Talthas' torso. The former Titan watched as the blast made contact with the villain.

It had no effect whatsoever.

Beastboy had to blink in amazement at what he had just seen. No doubt about it, this Talthas bastard was not a normal human being. Something was off about him, something that made the changeling's skin crawl.

He had no more time to dwell on it as Talthas countered his blast with a projectile of his own. A pillar of smoke fired from the sleeve of the villain's coat. When the smoke made contact with Beastboy's torso it was like he was hit by a truck. The green-skinned morphling crashed against the wall behind him, gripping his chest in pain.

Michela took advantage as Talthas took his eyes off her, firing the revolver in her right hand once again. The masked villain managed to dodge the blast with good reflexes, making a short hop to Michela's right. Not missing a beat, the white-haired girl pulled out her spare revolver with her left hand, placed the barrel just under her right elbow and fired, aiming for his head. She executed all of this in less than half a second.

Yet he still dodged it. Ducking under the blast and charging at her.

Frustation and rage boiled over within Michela and she let out a very unlady-like curse. Before she could readjust her aim, Talthas reached forward and grabbed her right wrist with his right hand and her left wrist with his left hand, holding her arms crossed in front of her chest and keeping her revolvers pointed safely away from him. He then reared his head back and brought it forward in a vicious headbutt. The blow hit the gun-slinging girl so hard she temporarily blacked out, sliding across the floor.

"Good shots kid, but I've gone through too much to be done in like that." Talthas informed her, Michela was still trying to regain her senses, her right hand holding her forehead. The masked terrorist conjured up a sword made from smoke in his right hand. He began to walk slowly toward her, stalking his prey.

"Boo fucking hoo Talthas!" Beastboy's voice sounded from his left, Talthas' eyes widened slightly in surprise as he turned to look in that direction. The blast he had hit the changeling with would have broken a normal man's sternum, but here he was back on his feet, looking very pissed off. The villain noticed a little too late that the changeling's right hand was glowing.

A large yellow sasquatch dropped in from the sky, landing right on top of Talthas. Thanks to his special ability though, the masked man was not injured. With the aid of his ability he went through the sasquatch, preparing to counterattack. He expected Beastboy to be surprised at seeing him unharmed, he didn't expect the former Titan to be right in his face.

Nor did he expect him to have a left arm again. Not a real one no, this one was thin and made from wood. The real scary thing about it though was it's fingers which were each a foot long and looked very very sharp. Those scary-looking knife-fingers were heading towards his face at an alarming rate as well.

There was no time for Talthas to dodge, Beastboy had executed a perfect upward slash with his clawed left hand that was going to turn his face into hamburger. He had no choice but to use his special ability again and when he did he was pretty sure Beastboy would figure his ability out. Better that than dead though.

Beastboy smiled in satisfaction, his aim was perfect, there would be no narrow misses this time. However, just as his claws reached the bottom of Talthas' jaw something happened. It was really quick, almost the blink of an eye, but the changeling was not mistaken in what he saw.

For a moment, just a moment, Talthas had turned into some form of smoke, causing his claws to pass harmlessly through his face. Once he was out of danger, the masked villain had resolidified from his smoke form. It all happened so fast, and if Beastboy wasn't focusing on him he probably would have missed it.

"Dude, not cool. Turning into smoke is so cheating in a fight." The former Titan stated, dismissing the giant sasquatch he had used as a diversion. Talthas didn't speak at first, taking a few steps backwards so he was out of Beastboy's range. The azure masked man then began to laugh, not loudly, but the walls of the ship made it sound booming.

"There's the viciousness I remember from you Garfield, this brings back memories don't you think?" Talthas asked, looking the former Titan in the eye, beneath Beastboy's glare there was nothing but confusion. He was still in the dark about Talthas' identity, there was a glint in the masked villain's eye, it was almost time for the bombshell.

"How come I can never get a villain to speak straight with me, you guys get your jollies off of being all cryptic?" The former Titan questioned, Talthas chuckled.

"I'm disappointed in you changeling, do you really not remember all the good times we shared at the ivory coast?" The masked villain sneered, at this Beastboy's eyes snapped wide, so did Michela's. Talthas eyes narrowed in satisfaction, now they were connecting the dots.

"It can't be...!" Beastboy managed to breathe out. Out of the four child superheroes, who helped defend the ivory coast, only Michela and himself had survived. Michela's brother Naji and Baruzar had both been lost during the struggles. There was no way one of them survived. The seed of doubt had already been planted within his brain however.

"So you DO remember Garfield." Talthas confirmed grabbing something from within his trenchcoat. "Good. That'll make it all the more satisfying when I crush you." And with that, the masked terrorist threw the object onto the ground. It landed about nine feet in front of Beastboy, who didn't need to be a master detective to identify the object as a grenade of some sort.

Michela became even more alarmed when she saw the grenade, she recognized the design as a new type of grenade being designed covertly by Lexcorp. Some of her former employers had smuggled a few boxes into South Africa a while back. The grenades used very tiny pieces of kryptonite to help boost their explosive potential. There was a drawback however, and that was that the kryptonite made the grenades highly unstable, Michela recalled one time when one of her fellow criminals had mishandled one and it exploded in his face. She had barely survived the explosion and not a trace could be found of the unlucky bastard who had set off the grenade.

"Gar! that thing will destroy the entire ship! No question!" Michela alerted her former friend, she heard him curse very loudly and make a beeline for her. Green bat-like wings extended out from his shoulderblades. In one smooth motion, he wrapped his right arm around Michela's waist, he didn't even slow down as he lifted the white-haired girl off her feet and carried her out of the main dining hall. The changeling's mind was running a mile a minute, he needed a quick exit off the ship and he needed it now. Or else Michela and his remains would be picked up by tweezers, if that.

* * *

"We'll have to rappel from here. Our boat is just below us." Nadia told the SWAT officer, she was hastily tying a rope around the man's waist. "Are you up for this?"

She took another quick glance at the man's face, it was very pale, and in their mad dash to escape the infected his leg had finally gave out when they reached topside. Currently he was leaning his back on the ship's railing, taking deep breaths through gritted teeth. Nadia was beginning to worry he wouldn't even make it to Michela's boat.

"I'll have to be, I don't have much choice if I want to survive do I?" He replied, Nadia had finished securing the rope around his waist and began tying hers.

"Don't rush yourself, your leg is still in pretty bad shape." She informed him, once the young female police officer had finished securing her rope around her waist, she did a final check to make sure that the ropes she had tied on the railing were secure. Seeing that they were she gave a quick nod to her fellow law enforcement officer, "Let's go."

Moments after Nadia spoke those words something burst through the floor and grabbed the man's left ankle. She quickly recognized the red-skinned hand of an infected. The man cursed and drew his pistol, firing a couple of shots into the hole the infected had created. It shrieked in pain, but still kept it's grip on the SWAT officer's ankle. Finally with a frustrated growl it burst it's entire upper torso through the floor, biting into the officer's left leg in the process.

"NO!" Nadia shouted, pulling out her own firearm and shooting at the infected. It was no use, the blasted thing had a solid group on the SWAT officer and a second one had joined it's brethren, grabbing the poor man around the waist and sinking his teeth into his right side. Seeing his grim predicament, the SWAT officer turned to Nadia.

"Go! Warn the city!" He shouted at her, and with that the two infected pulled him through the hole in the floor they had made.

Nadia knew it was foolish to linger, but she couldn't help it. One second her fellow officer, her fellow brother-in-arms was standing next to her and the next, he was gone. Pulled down into the depths of this cursed ship and murdered, by people infected with some damned virus.

She was jarred out of her thoughts as more hands appeared at the edge of the hole the first two infected made. Not wasting anymore time, Nadia leapt on top of the railing and jumped, twisting in mid-air so that she was facing the ship. As gravity pulled her back, she planted her feet onto the ship's side and pushed off, rapidly rappeling down as fast as she could.

As Nadia looked up she could see the hands of infected bursting through the hull of the ship. Most were well out of reach, but some were poking through quite close to her rope. She willed herself to move faster. Just a little more and she could safely drop down into Michela's ship and get the hell out of there.

One of the infected finally got lucky and managed to sever her rope with a swipe of it's claws, for a few brief terrifying moments Nadia was in freefall and then she landed inside the ship, the back of her skull connecting hard with the vessel's floor. Stars danced across her vision and her ears wouldn't stop ringing, but through it all she doggedly managed to get in the driver's seat and maneuver the smaller and sleeker ship away from it's larger and bulkier cousin.

She barely had time to collect herself before she was knocked horizontal once again, by the fiery ball that cracked the center of S.S. Aphrodite's hull open like an egg. The ball of flame continued to flow into the sky, illuminating the area around it in a brilliant array of reds and oranges. Nadia watched it from her prone position with a horrified expression.

"My god..." She whispered to herself.


	12. What must be done

**A/N: Finally getting back around to this, sorry I've put it off for so long.  
**

* * *

_The Lost Pyramid_

_seven years ago_

Hieroglyphics covered the pyramid's light brown walls, the artistic design was quite good. However, young Garfield Logan and Michela didn't have the luxury to stop and look at them. They were currently running for their lives.

"Garfield I don't think I can run for much longer!" Michela breathed, her footsteps beginning to falter. Garfield reached back with his left hand and grabbed her outstretched right as he continued to run through the wall of hieroglyphics.

"Just hang on Michela we're almost at the exit!" He exclaimed, the green boy couldn't believe it, Zalthien, the one who taught them the basics on controlling their powers, was dead. Killed by an ancient and terrible evil that resided within this pyramid. In their mad dash to escape they also had lost Baruzar, but Garfield had no time to worry about that now.

The young changeling looked into his right hand, in it was a single sheet of paper with strange words written on it. Zalthien's final words were for him to get back to the Lost Pyramid's entrance and say the strange words out loud, then they would be safe. He felt Michela's grip tighten and looked back to see her stumbling, she collapsed to her knees, breathing hard.

"I...can't...Garfield...I can't go...anymore..." She said, breathing heavily, Garfield nodded and knelt down with his back to her.

"Grab on, I'll carry you." He told her, she nodded and climbed onto his back, the young green boy then began running again. He sprinted for thirty more full seconds and was afraid his cardio would fail him when he saw it, the exit was a beautiful sight, light shining in through the square doorway that marked their freedom. With renewed vigor, Garfield ran towards it.

As soon as he was past the entranceway he set Michela down and put the paper down in front of him. There were so many words, did he have enough time to say all these before whatever got Zalthien caught up to them? He had to try at least.

The young changeling began to say the words on the paper, as the words left his lips he felt an invisible pressure around him, a pressure that continued to build as he said more strange words. He was almost finished when a familiar voice shouted to him.

"Garfield! Michela! Help me!" Baruzar screamed, he was running full sprint towards him, but just behind him Garfield saw the unmistakable sight of two giant glowing yellow eyes, tendrils of smoke reached out from the shadows behind Baruzar, swiping and lashing at his heels.

"We have to help Baruzar!" Michela told him, trying to rise to her feet and failing, she collapsed back down in exhaustion.

Beads of sweat permeated Garfield's brow as he tried to come up with the best solution for the current situation. The monster was too close to Baruzar, if he waited for his friend to arrive and then tried to finish the page's spell, he would be far too late, and Zalthien's sacrifice would be in vain. His young face set into determination, though tears still escaped his eyes as he spoke the last words on the page.

The strange words began to glow on the page and change shape, turning into some sort of rune. The rune then flew forward and attached itself onto the Pyramid's entrance, the rune glowed a brilliant light-blue color. When Baruzar ran up to it, he slammed into it as if he had hit a brick wall, the young boy was dazed for a moment before he came to and began slamming his fists onto the rune.

"Garfield! what are you doing!? undo the spell! Let me out!" Baruzar wailed, the tears flowed freely from the young green boy's face as he shook his head.

"I-I can't...!" The young changeling managed to get out before a smokey tendril wrapped itself around Baruzar's neck. The young boy gasped and gripped the tendril tightly, trying to pull it off his throat, but to no avail. More tendrils appeared from the shadows, wrapping themselves around Baruzar, who was looking towards Garfield, eyes full of fear.

"Help me!" Baruzar shouted, before the tendrils roughly yanked him back into the darkness. For a full minute, Garfield continued to hear Baruzar's screams before blessed silence finally settled over Michela and him. The young changeling collapsed to his knees, his tears wetting the sand beneath him.

* * *

_Some distance from the Cape Town Harbor_

_Present Day_

There was fire, there was pain and then there was an eerie quiet. Beastboy opened his eyes to the inky blackness of the water he was currently in. The explosion must've knocked him out of his senses momentarily, looking above him he could see the red and orange colors of fire and a black shape that must be the bottom of the Aphrodite. Michela was fortunately still in the grip of his right arm, she was lying limp, probably still unconscious from the narrow escape. He realized that his makeshift left arm was gone, probably from his loss of concentration, no matter, he could worry about that later. Using his feet, the former Titan began to swim towards the surface.

As he swam he felt fire in his back as his muscles worked. It looked like he didn't escape the explosion completely unscathed. The changeling figured he'd worry about it later, when Michela and him were safe. Spotting the underside of another boat ahead and above him the exiled Titan made his way to it, hoping that was Michela's boat.

Beastboy broke through the water's surface and inhaled deeply, getting some much needed oxygen into his lungs, a quick glance told him he'd been correct about the boat being Michela's and so he quickly tossed his white-haired friend into it. A cry of alarm sounded as the gun-slinging girl's limp form flopped onto the backseat of the boat suddenly, the voice belonging to Nadia. The changeling inwardly sighed in relief, she had made it out alive after all.

Climbing into the boat, he saw that she in the driver's seat, her eyes still wide from surprise when he had thrown Michela in. Quickly the young police officer composed herself before fixing her stare onto the changeling.

"What the hell happened in there?" She demanded, Beastboy shook his head, doing a quick examination of Michela to make sure she didn't have any serious injuries.

"Talthas threw some sort of grenade at us and blew up the Aphrodite." He answered her.

"A grenade did that to a cruise ship?" Nadia asked, her tone disbelieving.

"It was a big grenade." Beastboy replied, sounding slightly offended. "Michela seemed to know about it. You can ask her when she's awake."

"What about Talthas? Did he escape?" The young police officer questioned, Beastboy nodded, his expression severe.

"Probably, he's not a normal human being so it's safe to assume he got away." The former Titan replied.

"Damn it." Nadia cursed, a cruise ship full of infected people was destroyed and they had nothing to show for their efforts. Her superiors were not going to be happy with this.

"Let's head back for now." Beastboy suggested, "Inform your buddies on the other boat that we're heading back to port. We'll probably have to revise our strategy with this guy." Reluctantly Nadia complied, relaying Beastboy's suggestion to her fellow police officers in the patrol boat via radio and bringing the boat to bear in the direction back to Cape Town.

The boat was silent as the two were lost in their own thoughts. Beastboy's mind was a whirlwind, the hints that Talthas dropped of who he really was had shocked him to his core. It could only be one of two people, Naji, Michela's brother who's life was lost at the ivory coast all those years ago or...

...or Baruzar...when they had journeyed to the Lost Pyramid...

"Any ideas on where Talthas will hit next?" Nadia asked, Beastboy didn't answer right away, still deep in thought.

"Yeah a few..." He said distractedly, Nadia turned her attention from driving for a moment to look at him in the passenger's seat.

"Mind filling me in then?" She asked, this seemed to bring the changeling back to reality and he turned to look at her fully.

"Sorry just realized something important about Talthas and I'm..." Beastboy was cut short when the sound of gunfire was heard behind them. The former Titan snapped his attention back there in an instant, he was greeted by the sight of police officers desperately firing into what looked like a humanoid grey cloud of smoke.

"Talthas...!" Beastboy hissed, the masked maniac didn't wait long to continue his assault, attacking the law enforcement officers on the police patrol boat. Talthas was brandishing a sword that was emanating smoke and the exiled Titan could only watch helplessly as he knocked a policeman overboard with a vicious upswing. As he fell over, Beastboy couldn't help but notice that there was not a single mark on the man, no blood, no nothing. The officer fell lifelessly into the ocean with a quiet splash.

The azure-masked villain continued his slaughter, moving fluidly across the boat's deck as he slashed at the bewildered crew, one by one the police officers were cut down, their gunfire going harmlessly through Talthas. Some of the more scared crew, seeing that bullets weren't working, began diving overboard in a vain attempt to save their lives. One of these was the boat's driver and once he jumped the boat began to decelerate, falling behind Michela's boat. Nadia began to slow down so she could circle back around.

"Don't slow down! Get back to the harbor!" Beastboy barked out, Nadia looked at him like he had just grown two heads.

"Those are police officers he's killing back there!" She yelled back, matching his volume. Beastboy turned his gaze away from the patrol boat to glare at her.

"I know that, but if you don't get back to the harbor and warn your superiors and my friends, then this disaster is only going to get worse!" He replied, Nadia shook her head helplessly

"I can't just leave them!" She told him.

"If you don't want their deaths to be in vain then you will!" The changeling argued.

"What's wrong Garfield?" Talthas called out from the derelict police patrol boat. "Did you forget where you put your spine?" The masked villain spread his arms wide, "That's just like you! Running away from your problems! Deep down you're nothing but a coward and you know it!" Beastboy turned and glared at the man, he knew exactly who Talthas was now, but that still left the big question of how this man could still be alive, there was just no way, and yet here he was.

* * *

**A/N: Don't worry next chapter will have some action, just setting it up.**


	13. Two Killers

"Nadia." Beastboy stated, his voice oddly calm. "I need you to do this, please. This threat is bigger than both of us imagined and I promise you my friends can deal with it, but only if you get back to my communicator and contact them. If I fall here then Talthas could very well take this city."

For a long moment Nadia and Beastboy stared at each other. The young police officer bit her lip, she didn't like this, not one bit. Leaving your brothers-in-arms behind was out of the question under any normal circumstance. However, these circumstances were far from normal and if Talthas did defeat Beastboy and ended up wrecking Cape Town, what did her friends really die for?

"Alright fine, I'll do it." She finally relented, Beastboy nodded at her.

"Thank you." He told her, sincerity in his voice, he stood up from his seat, facing Talthas. "I'll hold him off while you get back to the harbor."

"Got it." Nadia nodded, the changeling let a small smile tug at his lips.

"Officer Vorum, when you talk to my friends, when you talk to Raven. Be sure to tell her not to be too mad at me for this." He hesitated, the next part he wished to say he didn't want to tell a stranger, but it was something he felt he needed to relay. "Tell her, I love her." Nadia's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she nodded.

"I will." She said.

"I'm getting bored over here Garfield!" Talthas called out again, leaning forward on the police boat's safety rail. "Are we going to finish this or are you going to run like a little punk?" The changeling's eyes narrowed in response.

"Goodbye Officer Nadia Vorum." Beastboy said to her, gathering his legs from under him, the former Titan executed a superhuman leap from Michela's boat. The distance between the two boats was easily over a hundred feet, but the changeling covered it easily.

"Now we're talking." Talthas said, smiling beneath his blue mask, he pushed off from the railing he was leaning against, getting ready to go into his smoke form to let Beastboy pass harmlessly through him. Except the changeling didn't pass through him, instead he blurred out of sight right in front of his eyes.

The masked villain's eyes narrowed as he searched around the boat for the green morphling. He had to be around here somewhere...

A brown cloud of dust exploded to the right of him, followed immediately by another cloud of dust behind him. Talthas turned a full one-eighty and fired a pillar of smoke into the air where he thought the changeling would be, but he only hit empty air. A third cloud of brown smoke erupted to his right and the masked terrorist found himself engulfed by the three clouds. Inside these combined clouds, Talthas discovered that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

"Trying to conceal yourself with this smoke? Clever, for a killer." Talthas said, he could try to escape the smoke cloud, but that's exactly what Beastboy was waiting for. Instead, he closed his eyes and trusted his other senses to tell him where the changeling was hiding.

"You call me a killer and yet you have gone and taken people's lives yourself... Baruzar." Beastboy spoke, the voice however seemed to come from everywhere and Talthas couldn't pinpoint it.

"We're both killers Garfield." The now revealed Baruzar responded, "We just didn't realize it back then."

"You're wrong." The former Titan replied.

"Am I? Is that why you murdered your friend Terra Markov?" Talthas/Baruzar inquired, there was a prolonged silence.

"That was different..." The changeling's voice said, pain evident in his tone.

"Deny it all you want Garfield, but the fact remains that deep down in your soul lies a dark desire to destroy." The masked man stated.

"Doesn't mean I have to listen to it!" The former Titan responded.

Baruzar felt the air being disturbed from behind him, Beastboy had gripped the railing with his right hand and lashed out with his left foot, aiming for the left side of The masked villain's head. Baruzar merely dropped into his smoke form, letting the changeling's foot pass harmlessly through his head. The former Titan completed a full rotation with his kick and repositioned himself into a crouching position on the railing, just in time to see Baruzar's right fist approaching his face.

Beastboy leapt straight into the air, Baruzar's fist breaching the space his face occupied a moment before. The changeling once again blurred out of the masked villain's sight. The man once codenamed as Talthas let out a snarl of annoyance.

"How long are you going to live in denial of what you really are?" Baruzar pressed.

"What I really am is more than just a desire for battle and mayhem. I also have a sense of integrity, strong bonds of friendship and a yearning to love and be loved." Came Beastboy's answer, The azure-masked terrorist snorted.

"Is that what you felt when you abandoned me to the shadows in the Lost Pyramid?" Baruzar questioned.

"The pyramid had to be sealed Baruzar." The former Titan said with a hint of regret. "If we would have tried to save you, the evil in there would have gotten out, and that would have been bad for a lot of people."

"And so you left me trapped in a structure with an ancient sinister being. Doomed to it's torment for years!" The trenchcoat-clad villain bellowed.

"There was no perfect answer back then! I made the best decision I could at the time!" Beastboy replied in defense.

"You're right." Baruzar said. "And the coming storm that is about to hit will be on your head Garfield."

Green vines suddenly burst forth from the floor around the masked villain, completely surrounding him. Thorns suddenly sprouted from the vines, embedding themselves into Baruzar, or they would have, if he didn't return to his smoke form.

As Baruzar phased through the shroud of vines in a wave of grey vapors, he began to grow concerned. He was relying too heavily on his smoke form, if he didn't have it, he would be in a lot of trouble right now. It was to be expected for Garfield to have grown stronger over the years, but this strong? He had underestimated the power inside the green man.

A faint yellow light appeared on the left side of Baruzar's vision and he immediately zero'ed in on it. Catching sight of Beastboy in mid-leap, his right hand outstretched and glowing yellow.

"Got you!" Baruzar exclaimed, resolidifying and firing another pillar of smoke from his right hand. Instead of trying to dodge Beastboy faced his palm towards Baruzar, spread his fingers wide, and fired a burst of yellow energy at the masked fiend.

The changeling grit his teeth, he had to time this perfect or else Baruzar or Talthas as he called himself would just phase through the blast in smoke form. Whenever he was attacking, the azure-masked man had to keep himself solid it seemed and the ex-Titan was going to use that window of opportunity, even if it was a very small one.

Beastboy grunted in pain as the smoke pillar collided with his sternum, but he saw with grim satisfaction his blast of energy connect as well. Both fighters were knocked to opposite sides of the boat, slamming their backs into the railings. The steel structures gave a little, but luckily didn't break. Both of them leaned against the damaged railings as they recovered from the attacks.

"Finally got a hit in on you." Beastboy boasted, a smile on his face. Baruzar shook his head.

"Taking a hit just so you could score one of your own. I guess I should have expected that from you." The masked villain replied, "But don't let it go to your head, I won't let it happen again." The changeling's smile widened at this.

"Didn't you know? First hit is always the hardest. It's only going to get easier for me here." Beastboy told him, creating another makeshift wooden left arm with long sharp claws. Baruzar's eyes narrowed.

"Don't bet on it!" The masked villain roared, charging forward, the former Titan mirrored his action, both of them jumped in the air and extended their right legs in a fierce jumpkick, aiming for each other's jaws. Baruzar saw that Garfield was going to use the same tactic he had used a moment before, deciding to play it safe, he went into his smoke form and let the changeling phase through him.

Both of them landed on their feet on the ship's deck. Baruzar turned and saw that Beastboy was still in a crouched position, trying to get his balance. The masked villain whirled around, striking out with his left hand, his fingers curled into a fist. Impossibly fast, Beastboy whirled around and blocked Baruzar's fist with his right forearm. The blue-masked man's eyes went wide while the changeling smirked.

Seeing his window of opportunity, Beastboy lashed out with his makeshift wooden left arm, seeking to slice up Baruzar's mask and face. Unfortunately his window of opportunity closed and Baruzar managed to react fast enough to go into his smoke form. The former Titan's claws passed harmlessly through the masked villain's head.

The two continued to trade blows with each other, Beastboy attempting to time his strikes the same time as Talthas and the masked villain mostly avoiding hits by using his smoke form at the last moment. Their frenzied assault was resulting in a stalemate, yet the two continued fighting fiercely, hatred for each other intense in their eyes.


	14. Hidden No More

Talthas/Baruzar took a step back to create some distance between his opponent. He then buried his knee into Beastboy's stomach. The exiled Titan grunted as the strike forced him back a good nine feet.

Beastboy had no time to counterattack as his masked former friend pulled a laser pistol out with his right hand and pointed it at him. The changeling leapt backwards, feeling the heat of a laser graze his right side, growling, he performed another jump backwards, landing on the steel railing. Quickly and with impressive balance, Beastboy ran on top of the railing to his left, barely keeping ahead of the barrage of laser blasts Baruzar was firing at him.

Realizing that he was running out of railing, the former Titan jumped off the railing, maneuvering himself so that he was about thirty feet above Baruzar's head. Beastboy extended his right hand and summoned his druidic power, bringing a spiked vine up from below Baruzar. The vine swatted the laser pistol out of his hand, causing his former friend to curse.

The masked villain responded by leaping up after him. Instinctively, Beastboy swung his clawed left hand at him and realized his mistake too late. Baruzar phased right through him in smoke form and solidified just above him. The changeling was facing down, body parallel to the ship's deck and Baruzar took the opportunity to plant both feet into Beastboy's spine, sending the pointy-eared former superhero into the deck.

Beastboy barely had time to register he had slammed into the floor of the ship when he felt a massive weight push him through it, he crashed into another steel floor in the patrol boat's interior, bouncing his head off of the floor as he landed. Stars danced across his vision, but he stood up and angrily shook them off, not wasting another moment, the former Titan sprouted his wings and with one flap he was airborne again.

The changeling darted through the hole he had made through the deck, Baruzar was still hovering in mid-air, the masked villain must've been the heavy weight he had felt. Reaching out with his right hand, Beastboy fired a blast of golden energy at him. Of course his masked former friend went into his smoke form and the blast passed harmlessly through him. Baruzar materialized and was about to make his move when he was forced to go into smoke form again as Beastboy extended his right leg in a fierce jump-kick, aiming for his face.

Baruzar let the changeling phase through him, then solidified and twisted around, the green morphling mirroring his action. The masked terrorist sought to plant his right boot into Garfield's sternum, but the green man had quick reflexes, bringing his forearms up in a cross pattern to absorb the kick. Beastboy smirked then, and Baruzar had an instant to get a bad feeling before a giant pterodactyl constructed from yellow energy dive-bombed him from above and to his left.

The flying creature slammed into Baruzar with it's beak, puncturing his left shoulder and causing him to grunt in pain. He hit the patrol boat's deck shoulders-first, sliding across the metal deck as the pterodactyl removed it's beak from his shoulder and promptly vanished. The masked villain clutched his left shoulder in pain, that bastard changeling had become craftier in their time apart. The energy blast the ex-Titan had fired at him must've been remolded into that pterodactyl once his attention was diverted.

Beastboy landed about fifteen feet in front of Baruzar, he had him hurting which was good. Still, finding ways to land hits on the masked bastard was proving to be difficult. His timing had to be almost perfect or he would make no progress.

Baruzar reached for his waist, where he had a belt full of pouches, tools and throwing weapons. He pulled out a shuriken about the size of his hand and flung it at the changeling. Beastboy brought up his makeshift wooden left arm and blocked the projectile with the back of his left hand. The former superhero then brought his right hand forward to return fire with an energy blast.

Predictably, Baruzar let the blast phase through him, but in the interim, Beastboy was making a mad dash for the masked villain, rapidly closing the distance between them. The changeling was planning on making his move as soon as Baruzar went on the offensive again, he just had to be a little patient.

Seeing Beastboy quickly closing in on him, Baruzar released two more shuriken at the emerald-skinned young man, aiming for his chest and head respectively. The morphling slid under the sharp projectiles, closing the remaining distance between them and catching the masked terrorist by surprise. As quick as he could, Beastboy swept out with his right leg, hoping to take his opponent's legs out from under him and leave him open further to attack.

It was not to be, Baruzar managed to go into smoke form half a second before the former Titan's leg connected. Beastboy completed his rotation and when he was facing his former masked friend again, he found Baruzar's right foot swiftly approaching his face. The tip of the masked villain's boot connected with the bottom of the changeling's jaw, knocking him off of his feet.

Beastboy couldn't even cry out in pain as the blow had knocked his teeth together and prevented him from opening his mouth for a second. Recovering quickly, the changeling did a back-flip and landed on his feet. He was just in time to see Baruzar going on the offensive this time, not good.

The azure-masked man took a few running steps and jumped into the air, he reared his right fist back and sought to bring it down on the changeling's head. Instead of trying to dodge, Beastboy struck out with his own right hand. Although Talthas connected with his right hook, nailing the exiled Titan on his left cheek, Beastboy was able to connect with his fist as well, hitting the masked terrorist at the bottom of his jaw, snapping his head back from the impact.

Both combatants leapt away from each other, dropping into fighting stances as soon as their feet touched the deck. A single crack appeared on the bottom part of Baruzar's mask, but he ignored it. There was a discolored spot on Beastboy's left cheek, but despite the pain it brought, he had a grin on his face.

"Do you plan on trading hits until one of us drops?" Baruzar remarked "Such a straight-forward strategy, but I'd expect nothing less from you Garfield."

"Why not? I've always been able to take hits better than you Baruzar." Beastboy replied, the masked villain narrowed his eyes.

"That was before, I'm a different person now." He responded. The changeling gave a slight shrug.

"So am I." The green pointy-eared man said. Talthas/Baruzar snorted and prepared for his next move when a sudden burning pain in his stomach forced him to his knees. The masked villain's eyes widened in surprise, were his limbs heavier? Why did his stomach hurt so much? Just what the hell was going on?

"Looks like it's finally taken effect." Beastboy announced, his face a stoic mask. Baruzar glared up at him from his knelt position.

"What's taken effect? What have you done?" Baruzar demanded, the fire in his belly was spreading.

"The cloud of dust that I threw up to conceal my movements had another purpose." The changeling explained. "For one, it wasn't dust at all, but very tiny spores, spores filled with poison, they've infiltrated your body."

"But my smoke form...!" Baruzar started, but stopped as he started coughing.

"Normally yes, that stupid smoke form of yours would have rendered the spores useless." Beastboy concured, his eyes narrowed suddenly. "But have you forgotten? You've been solidifying yourself to trade hits with me. And you only need to take just one breath for the spores to do their work."

"You bastard! So all those times you were exchanging punches you were trying to get me to breathe these in!?" The masked man exclaimed, Beastboy nodded.

"Pretty much yes, I imagine turning into your smoke form requires a lot of focus. A focus that you can no longer achieve now that the poison is coursing through your system. Am I right Baruzar?" He asked frostily, Talthas/Baruzar answered with his silence. "Thought so. Well dude, it's ass-kicking time." Beastboy's right hand curled slowly into a fist and he cracked his knuckles. "Let's see just how many hits you can take!"

The first hit came from nowhere, an uppercut to Baruzar's already sore jaw, knocking him a few feet in the air. Beastboy then jumped into the air, performed a forward somersault, maneuvering just above Baruzar, who's body was parallel to the deck. The former Titan then kicked downwards with his right foot, hitting the masked villain in the sternum and crashing him back down to the deck spine-first.

Beastboy kept the pressure on, raising his right hand above him and with a mighty roar summoned a giant triceratops constructed from yellow energy. The huge dinosaur fell on Baruzar horns first, driving him into and through the deck, through the inside of the ship's hull and out the bottom.

The police patrol boat groaned from the damage and began to break apart. Beastboy calmly landed on a piece of floating debris no larger than a small car, he was about to dive in after Baruzar when the masked man suddenly broke through the water's surface thirty feet in front of him.

* * *

**_Titans Underground Base, Jump City_**

_**Exact Location Unknown**  
_

It was movie night and all four Titans were currently glued to their big TV screen in their underground base. The defenders of Jump City were attempting to take one day and relax, forgetting all the problems that were being thrown their way for one night. They definitely needed the stress relief.

And it was working, they had had a great dinner thanks to Cyborg, Starfire picked the movie, which was based in a medieval fantasy where a group of adventurers had to destroy a magical amulet in order to save their lands from a great evil. So far it was pretty good, even Raven was taking glances at it while reading her book.

"I don't get it, why does the halfing have to carry the amulet? Shouldn't the wizard do it? He's stronger." Cyborg stated, he was seated all the way to the right on the U-shaped couch, Starfire sat to his left, followed by Robin and finally, Raven.

"The amulet also carries the essence of the dark tyrant, you know the bad guy trying to doom their world? If the wizard took the amulet, the tyrant could control the wizard and that would be bad for them." Raven explained, Starfire put a finger to her chin.

"Hmm, how strange. On my planet, amulets and medallions signify a person of royalty, they never harbored evil spirits inside them." The Tamaranean mused, Robin turned to look at Raven.

"Do such amulets really exist?" He asked the cloaked Titan, Raven nodded.

"They do, some can suck the soul right out of your body. One has to be very careful when handling items infused with magical energies." She responded, Robin whistled in amazement.

"Remind me not to take any amulets from your room then." The masked Titan replied. Raven nodded.

"That would be wise boy wonder." She agreed.

"So I still don't get it, why is the halfing the only one able to carry the amulet?" Cyborg repeated his question, causing a vein to throb on Raven's forehead.

"Because he's the only one in the group that is pure of heart, the dark tyrant can't influence him as much." Raven explained in her monotone.

"Oh." Came Cyborg's simple reply, and they resumed watching the movie in silence. After a good five minutes, Robin's communicator suddenly chimed.

The Titan's leader immediately stiffened, he had set his communicator to alert him if there was any news about Beastboy. Finding him before the Justice League, specifically the Green Lantern was very important. However their green teammate had hidden himself pretty well. Robin was certain Beastboy had fled to Africa, it made sense. However Africa was a big continent and finding him was proving to be more difficult than he thought.

Robin quickly produced his communicator from his belt while the others looked on anxiously. Text scrolled across the communicator's screen which Robin read, his eyes widened under his mask as he quickly ran up to the console in front of the TV and started typing furiously.

"Aw man! The epic battle scene just started!" Cyborg whined, but the rest paid him no heed. The screen shifted to show the tattered remains of a cruise ship, a news reporter was frantically talking about the ship's destruction and how some sort of masked terrorist was spotted near Cape Town, South Africa.

"Robin why are we watching this?" Starfire questioned.

"Keep watching you'll see soon enough." He responded grimly, the others continued to watch as the camera shifted to another boat, this one a police patrol boat, it was in shambles and sinking fast. Near the sinking ship however were two figures, each standing on a small piece of debris floating in the ocean. One was the masked terrorist the reporter was talking about, and the other...

The other had green skin...

"Looks like Beastboy is on the radar again." Robin said aloud. Cyborg and Starfire stared wide-eyed in astonishment, Raven was already pulling out her communicator.

"We need to get in touch with Herald see if he can take us there, we should also notify any available Titan that can get to Cape Town right away. There's no time to waste!" Raven stated, her voice unusually animated. Robin shook his head.

"Herald is on a mission, he's not available." The Titans' leader informed her, the dark girl's eyes furrowed into a glare and she turned towards Cyborg.

"How soon can the T-ship fly?" She asked him, Cyborg shrugged.

"I can probably get it up and running in about twenty minutes or so why?" He inquired, Raven didn't respond she turned and headed towards the exit of the base's common room.

"Could you have it ready in fifteen minutes? We need to get to Cape Town right away." She responded, the sliding doors of the common room opening for her as she exited. Leaving a confused Cyborg.

"I don't get it, why the rush to get to Cape Town? I mean I know the grass stain is there and all, but it's not like we have to leave right at this moment." The bionic Titan stated. Robin was still typing on the console, trying to get more information on the situation.

"She's concerned for Beastboy." Robin replied, "Because if we know where he is then the Justice League does too now."

"And so does the Green Lantern." Starfire added with a forlorn look on her face.

* * *

**A/N: Thinking about discontinuing this story, I think I made a mistake and lost people's interest with the long hiatus and the lack of Titans interaction.  
**


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